Cocaine Test Prompts Red Bull Removal In Germany

viyh writes to mention that six German states have mandated pulling Red Bull Cola energy drinks off the shelves after testing found trace amounts of cocaine in the drink. "Germany's Federal Institute for Risk Assessment said Monday that the cocaine level was too low to pose a health risk. It planned to produce a more detailed report Wednesday. Red Bull said its cola is 'harmless and marketable in both the US and Europe.' It said similar coca leaf extracts are used worldwide as flavoring, and a test it commissioned itself found no cocaine traces."

Comments

The War on (some) Drugs

[causality]

If the stated purpose of the War on (some) Drugs is public safety and the prevention of crime (since drug use is handled as a law enforcement problem and not as a medical issue), I'd like to know how this furthers the cause. The brief article stated the cocaine content amounted to 0.4 micrograms of cocaine per liter of the beverage. Sounds to me like anyone trying to use cocaine by drinking Red Bull Cola would die of excess water consumption (anything is a poison given a high enough dose) before they'd feel the cocaine at all. Additionally, if someone tried to extract the cocaine from the drink and purify it, they'd spend a ton of money on the drink and I would imagine, since we're talking about nanogram amounts per liter, the expenditure would have to far exceed what they'd pay if they obtained it from a drug dealer.

Welcome to modern drug hysteria where logic and reasoning need not apply when evaluating potential threats to public safety. Aren't the Germans glad they have a government that's powerful enough to worry about things like this? It's amazing, really. No matter how absurd the drug hysteria becomes, no one or almost no one with any significant media presence is willing to suggest that maybe the way we're currently handling drugs isn't the best way to deal with them.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[Rob Kaper]

Aren't the Germans glad they have a government that's powerful enough to worry about things like this?

The war on drugs is a good topic to start not to single out nation states. It's Germany now, but this is no exception. The rest of Europe isn't much better, except maybe Portugal who have actually decriminalised a lot. Even my Holland is slowly turning into a nanny state when it comes to drugs. Let's not even get started about the US, or the rest of the world for that matter.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[fractoid]

I will tell you why I am against legalization of drugs (although this is an unpopular stance on slashdot):

I will tell you why I am for legalization of drugs, and hopefully you will see that my reasons are exactly the same as yours:

Because when I have crackheads walking down the street all the time to the house on the corner, I want to be able to call the police and have them be able to do something about it.

Because if crack were legal, crackheads wouldn't walk to that house, they'd drop into a chemist and pay $24.95 for a clean, measured dose. They wouldn't have to deal with dealers price gouging them once they get hooked, so they wouldn't have to steal your bigscreen TV to pay for their next hit. If they get wired and screw up in public, then arrest them for their behaviour. If they don't cause any public nuisance then why is it any of your damn business what they do?

When my neighbor's meth lab burns his house to the ground, I want him to go away, not build a new, better one.

Why would your neighbour bother to run a meth lab if he can buy some cheaply and legally? I don't see him running an illegal still in his basement.

These are not made up issues. Drugs suck. They cause sucky things in society. And a lot of people, probably the majority, feel this way.

These are not made up issues, but they are caused by prohibition, not by the drugs themselves.

The only reason that legalisation ISN'T good is that people who get addicted would not have so much pressure to quit. I say that is their personal choice and they should take personal responsibility.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[N1AK]

Are you completely incapable of considering the notion that you might be wrong? A good half-dozen people have responded with very clear arguments explaining why legalisation isn't going to cause you any more problems than you already have. You seem to be holding onto this bizarre notion that drug legalisation means the complete abolition of all laws relating to drugs.

Although it seems pretty obvious that you'll just ignore these as well, I've got time to burn trying:
1/ If people can buy drugs from a legal source their will be less dealers (less risk of dodgy doses, less risk of crime etc).
2/ If less money is being spent on catching and incarcerating people for possession etc this leaves more for rehab, catching illegal dealers etc.
3/ Legalisation of sale does not mean it would be legal to use in public.
4/ It would be easier for addicts to seak help without the stigma of an illegal habit.

There are downsides to legalisation, and I don't know if they would be bad enough to justify keeping drugs illegal. However, if you have a problem based on those, then make your case with them, currently all you are doing is repetitively claiming that drug legalisation will cause a mob of crackheads to congregate at your frontdoor.

She's alright

[Neon Aardvark]

Trace amounts of cocaine were found in the German parliament toilets.

Ergo, German politicians should be banned from Germany.