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

Hah

[mackinaw_apx]

So that's how you get your wings! :p

Re:Hah

[King_TJ]

"Cocaine is a hell of a drug." - Rick James

Bottoms Up.

[Ostracus]

Coca Cola with real Coca.

Re:Bottoms Up.

[dargaud]

Get the real stuff instead: Inca Cola !

Re:Bottoms Up.

[Adrian Lopez]

Coca cola already contains real Coca, with the cocaine removed. There is only one company licensed to import Coca leafs into the US, and as far as I'm aware they only sell the extract to Coca Cola.

Nice way to get a legal monopoly on that special "Coca Cola" flavor, no?

Re:Bottoms Up.

[MoonBuggy]

Actually Coca-Cola does still contain real coca leaf flavouring. It has the cocaine extracted by Stepan Company before the leaves are passed on to Coca-Cola.

I wouldn't be particularly surprised if the process is less than 100% effective, either. When you're looking at amounts on the order of 10^-9 grams per litre, it's quite possible that any cola with real coca leaves in (don't know how common they are) has always contained traces and nobody's noticed or cared.

Re:Bottoms Up.

[fishbowl]

>Coca-Cola did once contain an estimated nine milligrams of cocaine per glass, but in 1903 it was removed.

What's strange about that is that for about 20 years afterward you could simply go to the drugstore and buy ounces of cocaine.
It was one of the few drugs available that had any effective use at all. Coca drugs and Sulfa drugs, and then all the opiate-alcohol cure-all mixtures.

Re:Bottoms Up.

[mrmeval]

Best Coca Cola is from Monterrey Mexico.
http://www.e-arca.com.mx/default_i.asp

The original wasp shaped blue glass bottles. Real sugar. Real secret ingredient.
This is something that hasn't been made in the United States except that produced for passover since the 'new' coke fiasco.

Re:Bottoms Up.

[larry bagina]

The money in your wallet probably has trace amounts of cocaine, too.

Re:Bottoms Up.

[Anonymous Coward]

shut up, go study some spelling.

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

[JustinOpinion]

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.

Should be easy enough to calculate:

Pure cocaine sells for, let's say, $30,000 per kg. To get a kilogram of cocaine from RedBull would take 2.5 billion liters, or roughly 7 billion 12 oz cans. A 24-case of Red Bull seems to cost about $34.80, or $1.45 per can.

In other words, to get 1 kg of cocaine from Red Bull would cost $10 billion, not to mention the enormous expense of purification. And all this would only be worth $30,000. It would cost 340,000 times more for the Red Bull than the cocaine would be worth.

As you said, the numbers don't exactly add up. Not even close.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[hoytak]

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.

[Citation needed]

I suspect it'd be because they flew off into outer space and suffocated.

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

[gringofrijolero]

If the media keeps its mouth shut, it will be allowed to live. As contraband, drugs are much more profitable to organized criminals in, and out of government. This is no health issue any more than a speed trap is a safety issue. The reasons for this situation is quite simple. But it's more effective to make a moral issue out of it for mass appeal. And it still is very much a racial issue. Don't want your daughter hanging out with jazz musicians.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[phantomfive]

Once I drank 11 liters of water in a single day, without eating anything. By the end I really wasn't feeling good, I literally thought I was dying, but all I needed was a bit of sugar (in the form of coolaid, actually) and I immediately felt better. So as long as you are getting enough sugar (and salt), I think it will take even more water than that to cause problems.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[euxneks]

Should be easy enough to calculate:

Pure cocaine sells for, let's say, $30,000 per kg. To get a kilogram of cocaine from RedBull would take 2.5 billion liters, or roughly 7 billion 12 oz cans. A 24-case of Red Bull seems to cost about $34.80, or $1.45 per can.

In other words, to get 1 kg of cocaine from Red Bull would cost $10 billion, not to mention the enormous expense of purification. And all this would only be worth $30,000. It would cost 340,000 times more for the Red Bull than the cocaine would be worth.

As you said, the numbers don't exactly add up. Not even close.

There ought to be a Google calculator function for this.

"$30000 worth of cocaine in Red Bulls"

$30,000 dollars worth of cocaine = $10,000,000,000 dollars worth of red bull

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[andr386]

You might drink far more than 11 liters. People who have psychogenic poydipsia often drink more. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychogenic_polydipsia They feel the urge to fill themselves with water. But after a certain treshold, the water will eventually deplete you sodium serum, and your nerves won't be able to work anymore, ... then you die.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[phantomfive]

Go out on the streets. How many druggies do you see? You can probably find some if you look hard enough. How many drunks do you see? Tons. Legalizing drugs (by itself) will not reduce the number of crackheads on the street. There need to be other actions taken as well.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[andr386]

They are not hysterical, it's 6 states out of 16 ... And actually it's probably temporary, the article says they removed it "amid concerns over possible narcotics law violations." It's obvious they will clear that up. Also illegal drugs is more of a health issue than a geopolitical war in Europe. And you'd be wrong to think than any European country is more progressive on drugs than say California.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[Anonymous Coward]

Wolfram Alpha wasn't sure what to do with my input :(

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[Anonymous Coward]

Don't want your daughter hanging out with jazz musicians.

1895 telegrammed: WANT MORAL ISSUE BACK STOP

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[droopycom]

This is typically the problems that Wolfram|Alpha is supposed to solve...

Unfortunately, they dont seem to have a price for Cocaine... they do have a bunch of numbers for Red Bull though...

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[DavidD_CA]

I'm confused. How many Libraries of Congress is that?

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[fractoid]

Annoyingly, this is often implicated in MDMA deaths. In fact I don't think I've read a highly publicised case of "ecstasy death" that didn't resolve to either hyperhydration or the pill actually containing something completely fucking different (the most recent one in Australia was a girl who bought a pill that she thought was MDMA and turned out to be a combination of GBH and Ketamine... and yet it was widely reported as "teen ecstasy death").

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

[YttriumOxide]

Since neither marijuana nor LSD are addictive, you might want to reconsider some of your wording Mr Troll.

All we here is the wonderful hippie wonderland where everybody gets high 24/7 and somehow that doesn't fuck everything up.

Almost no-one is advocating "getting high 24/7" - we advocate reasonable laws to allow people to make some personal choices and accept the responsibilities of those choices if they're badly made. If a guy buys cocaine and uses it, no problem from my point of view. If he buys cocaine and beats the crap out of someone since he's the type of person who gets violent on it, then he should be arrested for assault - no different to alcohol. If various drugs were legalised, then yes, there'd be people who abuse them, but I don't think it'd be a significantly different number to the number of people that abuse them now. Just as there are people that abuse alcohol currently, but the vast majority of us that do drink it are able to do so in moderation without being permanently drunk.

The vast majority of the problems are because they're illegal. The guy I get my LSD from is a pretty shady sort of character, and I wouldn't put it past him to do other criminal things such as theft and perhaps even physical violence. If I could avoid ever seeing that dickhead again, buy my acid from a pharmacy, and hear he's gone out of business, then I'd be a very happy man.

full disclosure:
I don't use marijuana - don't like the feeling it gives.
I also don't use cocaine, but mostly due to the price/performance factor (it's way too expensive for so little effect) as well as some concerns about the health risks.
I do use LSD though on a fairly regular basis - up to around 6 times per year on average these days, but much more when I was younger. I love the things it does to me, and consider myself a much better person for having had it.
Despite this, I'm in favour of the legalisation of all three (and more), not just my "preferred" substance(s).

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.

Re:The War on (some) Drugs

[geminidomino]

"would die of excess water consumption (anything is a poison given a high enough dose)"

Thanks for clearing that up. Drowning is actually "water poisoning". Roger.

No, drowning is inhalation of water/liquid and subsequent asphyxiation.

Water poisoning/Water intoxication is a completely different animal (remember the woman who died from it a few years ago trying to win a Wii?)

Levels

[EdIII]

the cocaine level was too low to pose a health risk.

I would say the levels are too high when you are willing to blow some dude in a bathroom stall to get more Red Bull. Till then, it's probably just fine.

Re:Levels

[Anonymous Coward]

Dear Sir,

When you're ready, I am waiting in stall 3 with your Red Bull.

- Red Bull Dealer

Re:Cool story bro

[Ethanol-fueled]

No surprise there. Tobacco is legal for sale and it's packed with shit like arsenic and benzene.

Of course, you have folks out there who are banning hemp because marijuana gets people high. But they should go after the malt liquor industry if they want to catch the low-hanging fruit.

There's no way in hell that Old English 800 and Steel reserve are just barley, hops, and yeast. They cause psychotropic effects similar to PCP.

She's alright

[Neon Aardvark]

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

Ergo, German politicians should be banned from Germany.

This really isnt suprising

[Tigersmind]

They would of course have a very small amount in the drink. Not enough to break laws, but enough to make people go "Lets get this! It's cocaine!" if it would ever be discovered. Marketing at its best folks.

Coca-Cola next ?

[moon3]

"Coca" contains cocaine alkaloids, a basis for the drug cocaine.

So Coca-Cola, that still uses Coca extracts in the beverage might also contain "trace amounts" of the substance.. Greedy regulators might have missed a bigger target here.

Re:Coca-Cola next ?

[Manip]

According to this page at one point Coca Cola did indeed contain trace amounts but that is no longer the case and hasn't been the case since 1929

http://www.snopes.com/cokelore/cocaine.asp

Re:Coca-Cola next ?

[moon3]

Coca-Cola buys (though subsidiary) about 100 metric tons of dried Peruvian coca leaves each year, according to Marco Castillo, spokesman for Peru's state-owned National Coca Co.

(source Wikipedia)

And it uses it in Coca-Cola, that of course doesn't mean that Coca-Cola contains cocain, just a Coca extract.

So _that's_ how it works...

[lobiusmoop]

Red Bull is a homeopathic stimulant!

Re:So _that's_ how it works...

[John Hasler]

No. That concentration is far too high to qualify as homeopathic. For that you have to get it down to less than one molecule per liter.

Re:So _that's_ how it works...

[ChromeAeonium]

Less than one molecule per liter? That's the homeopathic equivalent to a placebo. The strong stuff is measured in molecules per cubic lightyear. Boy, it sure is a good thing we as a civilization don't treat health problems magic water, huh?

Oh yeah?

[4D6963]

I've never bought or used cocaine yet I probably have more of it in my wallet. On my bank notes.

Re:Oh yeah?

[Anonymous Coward]

Novocaine is similar to cocaine and dentists used to use cocaine as an anesthetic. Neither are narcotics though. Narcotics are only opiates and opioids, despite what the TV says.

I would imagine the poster above you was correct in saying he never used cocaine.

In other news...

[denzacar]

Due to trace amounts of cocaine known to be found on dollar bills - eating, snorting, licking or in any other way ingesting of money shall be strictly prohibited.

If the police officer founds that there is probable cause that the suspect was planing to engage in money ingestion - he/she/it has authorization to detain the suspect and confiscate the said money as evidence.
Cause there is no ceasefire in the war on drugs.

Re:In other news...

[xianthax]

67% of dollar bills in this study, and thats south shore mass, i would expect manhattan to step that number up a bit.

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080411/NEWS/804110348

Half-baked

[slashdotmsiriv]

Red Bull is not a drug. I used to suck d*** for coke. Now that's an addiction. You ever suck some d*** for Red Bull?

Re:Half-baked

[Anonymous Coward]

I've sucked off a red bull for some coke before.

DON'T JUDGE ME.

Re:Half-baked

[ionix5891]

cocka cola?

Red Bull PR team must be partying now

[Ilgaz]

I guess the lawmakers hope that all people, especially people who buys extra caffeine containing things like Red Bull must hate cocaine or should be afraid of it.

If Red Bull sales explode because of these news, I wouldn't be so surprised. Red Bull could never come up with such a great PR idea, getting banned for having trace amounts of cocaine, a World known, famous thing.

Ask any police guy, they are particularly afraid of cocaine because people somehow think it is classy. While it may have very same, very dangerous side effects (including sudden death) and addiction, they aren't afraid of it like they would be afraid of heroine.

You now declare a free to buy thing in grocery store has that matter even it is ridiculously low. Very clever. If I was Red Bull, I would even sponsor these politicians.

It's everywhere

[dword]

I recently read on /. that they found traces of cocaine in Madrid if I'm not mistaking. It was later revealed that cocaine is found almost everywhere, because there's always a very very small amount in the air.

Re:It's everywhere

[John Hasler]

There are small amounts of everything everywhere, for sufficiently small values of "small".

Than American money should be banned too.

[TavisJohn]

There is more Cocaine on a US dollar than in 1 ltr of RedBull!

This is just plain stupidity! I mean there are FDA rules on how many rat hairs are allowed in a chocolate bar... (And no it is not none)

You will get higher off of the caffeine than the cocaine!

Yo dawg

[Anonymous Coward]

we heard you like tweaking so we put a stimulant in your stimulant so you can tweak while you tweak

Re:Don't forget this fact, you can't get it back

[Falconhell]

Ya know what cocaine makes you feel like?

More cocaine!

The Conversation

[Bob9113]

Marketing Guy: So, there are artificial flavors made from coca?

Food Chemistry Guy: Yeah, wild, eh?

Marketing Guy: Can you just fill the can with artificial flavoring?

Food Chemistry Guy: No, it would kill our customers, and it would be illegal. The allowable level is much lower than 100%.

Marketing Guy: How much lower?

Food Chemistry Guy: 120 PPM. [note: totally made up]

Marketing Guy: What's a PPM?

Food Chemistry Guy: Parts per million, it is a more precise measure of...

Marketing Guy: [interrupting] Forget I asked -- just put in as much as you can.

Food Chemistry Guy: But, it'll taste terrible.

Marketing Guy: [blinks] ... Ummm, have you tasted regular Red Bull?

Red Balls

[iveygman]

It's cocaine in can, baby! Shazam!

Re:Cool story bro

[DirtyCanuck]

I am gonna openly admit, that once upon a time I have done cocaine. So this is purely from personal experience.

But any night we would do coke we would buy a case of Red Bull and start chugging them early. When we would actually get to the snorting business it seemed to level out the heart rate as it was already up from the Red Bull. So in other words it would stop that sudden RAPID increase in the heart. Seems to level out the buzz a bit as well, less HIGHS then LOWS.

Cocaine is only as evil as you let it become.

Where do they get the Coke?

[Mishotaki]

The one thing that i really wonder in that is: where do they get those leaves? isn't it illegal to get cocaine leaves?

Since they should get big shipments of it to use for their production, wouldn't the police make a raid at their production facility? it would be a pretty big bust wouldn't it?

Red Bull Cola Tastes like shit!

[Jackie_Chan_Fan]

I tried Red Bull Cola and it tastes horrible. Its not even good. It's just shit.

Perhaps the cocaine content is to help "sell" the product as something deliciously mmm mmm good? You would have to be on hallucinogens to enjoy Red Bull Cola's shit taste.

 

Re:Cool story bro

[AHuxley]

Grow up in a nice middle class home, surrounded by love and fast computers?
Lego and train sets? Basic and Pascal?
When you get drunk, its all cool, maybe you flirt, sing, dance or want to code or just get sleepy?
Others unlock a more hidden past of pain, destruction and blood.

Free Advertising!

[whistlingtony]

Yup, controversy sells. I bet red bull loved this. Free advertising!

Sounds like good news for Red Bull Cola US Sales!

[moxley]

Sounds like good news for Red Bull Cola US Sales!

Yes, because we Americans, we love us some Cocaine!!

I guarantee it though, that that stuff will sell better in the US because of this story.

Re:Why is it in there to begin with

[afidel]

Oh, I'm sure they found it with their brand spanking new GCMS that can accurately detect substances in the parts per trillion, you have to find something to justify that big cash outlay even if it's in such small quantities that it would never affect the biology of any human.

Re:Cool story bro

[Anonymous Coward]

So kinda like you only better at it?

Science and politics...

[WoollyMittens]

There's also trace amounts of drugs on money, let's all paaaaaanic and take everything out of circulation. Someone should explain these boneheaded idiots that a trace amount nearly nothing and has probably always been there.

Re:Cool story bro

[Niris]

Some of us with shitty pasts still flirt and sing and dance when drunk because it's just fun.

No RedBull for the French either

[sam0vi]

I was surprised, while living in France last year, that RedBull is illegal. I was even more surprised when they told me you can buy Poppers at clothing shops like nothing happens. Any Frenchie care to comment on it??

Re:No RedBull for the French either

[voop]

I was surprised, while living in France last year, that RedBull is illegal. I was even more surprised when they told me you can buy Poppers at clothing shops like nothing happens. Any Frenchie care to comment on it??

You asked for it, there you have it. I am not a Frenchie and can't speak for the availability of poppers -- but Red Bull *was* illegal due to its taurin content. The French equivalent of the FDA didn't think that it was possible to determine, based on available studies, if the product was safe, and was citing at the time (if I recall correctly) something about detected hyperactivity in animals who'd consumed high doses of taurine. In April 2008, in a neutered version (arginine instead of taurine and much less caffeine...) was approved for sale in France.

In, I think, later 2008, the unneutered Red Bull entered the French market: this time it was the EU that forced the French to accept it. A product sold in one EU country can legally be imported and sold in an EU country (or something to that effect), and Red Bull was/is sold in many (but not all) EU countries.

Re:Article not about Regular RedBull

[gregthebunny]

Many don't seem to realize their talking about the newer REDBULL COLA they put onto the market. I have to say, it's one of the best I've tried, the ingredients read like a simple list of herbs, and the taste is pretty interesting/complex. Hope they don't ban them here, they are hardly the same strength in terms of stimulant property as the regular redbull(the cola being weaker).

Agreed. Those who claim it "tastes like shit" are entitled to their own opinions, however wrong they may be.

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.

RedBull Simply Cola is also NOT an "energy drink" as the description says. It's Simply a Cola.

Re:Cool story bro

[GooberToo]

Of course, you have folks out there who are banning hemp because marijuana gets people high.

Hemp != marijuana
Marijuana can be used as hemp but it is not real "hemp." They are in the same family but true hemp does not have THC. Smoking hemp will give you a headache so bad, getting knocked out with a mallet will feel like relief. In fact, modern strains of hemp truly have zero THC.

The last time hemp was legally grown in the US was WWII. You can still find it growing wild. Its now called ditch weed. The truth of the matter is, real ditch weed is actually hemp and can not get you high.

The truth of the matter is, cotton growers, petroleum and chemical corporations, and now corn growers are the real reasons why hemp is illegal in the US. Hemp directly competes with all of their bottom lines.

Re:Cool story bro

[berend botje]

Cocaine is better for your health than a case of Red Bull anyways.