Did Coca-Cola ever contain cocaine?

Elon Musk, the eccentric billionaire, is never one to disappoint us with his bold statements and audacious moves. In April 2022, the hyper-dynamic CEO of Tesla and SpaceX struck a $44-billion deal to acquire Twitter, which has since been rebranded as ‘X’. But that’s not where the story ends. Musk, known for his quirky tweets and unconventional antics, teased the world with an intriguing comment that left everyone in stitches and scratching their heads.

He boldly claimed, “I will buy Coca-Cola next and put the cocaine back in it.” Now, whether Musk was serious about buying the iconic cola giant is still up in the air, but the real twist comes when he mentions “Put cocaine back in it.” What on Earth did he mean by “back”? Was Coca-Cola once laced with cocaine? Have we, the unsuspecting consumers, been unwittingly sipping on a soda loaded with the white stuff? And how in the world has the brand escaped unscathed? 

Let’s dive into the fascinating history of this once-beloved beverage that is shunned by diet-conscious consumers.

Coca-Cola’s journey can be traced back to the late 19th century, when John Pemberton, a pharmacist from Atlanta, Georgia, in the U.S., invented the original formula. In 1885, he concocted a special elixir he initially marketed as a ‘patent medicine’—a so-called ‘brain tonic and intellectual beverage’. According to Pemberton, his creation could cure headaches, upset stomachs, and fatigue. Little did he know that his potion would go on to conquer the global beverage industry.

The secret ingredient? It was cocaine, extracted from coca leaves, which inspired the ‘coca’ part of the beverage’s name. ‘Cola’ came from kola nuts, which contain caffeine, another stimulant. Back in those days, cocaine was a legal and common ingredient in medicines. People believed it was safe when used in moderation. Pemberton’s original recipe called for a generous five ounces, or 141.748 grams of coca leaf per gallon of syrup—a hefty dose indeed.

In the early days, a glass of Coca-Cola contained an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine. To put that into perspective, a typical ‘line’ of cocaine, used by addicts today, is about 50–75 milligrams. 

In the early 1900s, purified cocaine was a primary ingredient in numerous tonics and elixirs designed to treat a wide range of ailments. Even surgeons used cocaine as a local anesthetic before synthetic alternatives became available. However, as research revealed the highly addictive nature of cocaine and its potential to alter brain function, the era of cocaine-laden colas came to an end.

In 1903, to address growing concerns, the Coca-Cola Company decided to remove cocaine from the drink. A new approach was adopted, utilizing ‘spent’ leaves, the remnants of the cocaine extraction process, which still had trace levels of cocaine. By 1929, Coca-Cola had fully transitioned to a (more or less) cocaine-free coca leaf extract.

Today, the coca leaf extract used in Coca-Cola is processed at a Stepan Company plant in Maywood, New Jersey, the sole manufacturing facility authorized by the US federal government to import and process coca leaves sourced from Peru and Bolivia. Stepan Company extracts the cocaine from these leaves and sells it to Mallinckrodt, the only company in the United States licensed to purify cocaine for medicinal use.

So, was Elon Musk merely pulling our collective leg with his tongue-in-cheek Coca-Cola comment? Well, it seems that the only ‘high’ associated with Coca-Cola these days is the caffeine rush you get from a can of your favorite soda. But it’s undeniably a wild ride through history to discover that, once upon a time, your fizzy refreshment might have contained a secret ingredient that’s better left in the past!