AG Sues To Ban Energy Drink “Cocaine”

The Texas Attorney General’s Office has obtained a court order stopping sale of the energy drink “Cocaine” in Texas.

Well, at least it’s not prosecution of bogus voter fraud.

This is too good not to quote:

The makers of the Cocaine energy drink say their beverage is like “speed in a can” and a “legal alternative” to street drugs. They say it may cause “excess excitement, stamina, fun and possible feelings of euphoria.”

The drink has become such a hit on MySpace and YouTube that fans have posted spoof commercials pretending to be addicts and videos of themselves chugging the drink, which some say is so strong that it burns the back of your throat.

But it won’t be sold in Texas anymore.

The state attorney general’s office obtained a court order Wednesday temporarily stopping Dallas wholesalers from distributing the energy drink, made by Redux Beverages of Las Vegas.

State officials say the company’s advertisements amount to marketing a drug without government safety checks. The crackdown halts the distribution of 172,000 cans stored in three warehouses in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Texans will not tolerate the peddling of unapproved drugs,” Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a written statement. “This advertising campaign entices young people with illegal drug references and false claims of health benefits.”

Redux partner Clegg Ivey said the company had already removed some claims from its advertising and was trying to understand how it was breaking the law.

“The rub seems to be that people don’t like the name of our drink,” he said. “People are smart enough to realize that an energy drink with the name Cocaine does not have cocaine in it and isn’t a substitute for it. There are many energy drinks on the market with edgy names.”

A hearing on whether to lift the ban will be held May 16.

Cocaine comes in an 8.4-ounce red can, similar in size and shape to other high-caffeine energy drinks. Its brand name is spelled out to look like lines of white powder, and it sells in convenience stores for a few dollars a can.

The drink contains 280 milligrams of caffeine – equivalent to more than two cups of coffee, 3 ½ Red Bulls or seven Pepsis.

As someone who has drink at least three Cokes or Dr. Peppers every morning just to have some level of minimal functionality before 10 a.m., even I’m scratching my head that that amount of caffeine. Read on:

According to the Texas lawsuit, Redux claims that five minutes after drinking Cocaine the customer will achieve a “high” followed by a caffeine boost 15 minutes later with the effects lasting up to five hours.

Um hum. So, like, this was a good thing for truckers to drink, I guess?

It also said that one of its ingredients, inositol, could reduce cholesterol in the blood, prevent the hardening of arteries and be used to treat anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

So, I guess, in theory, poor kids who can’t afford their meds because the Republicans screwed them out of CHIP coverage could just drink a Cocaine every morning before school to treat any of these disorders they may have? Hum…maybe the state ought to be bottling the stuff.

Seriously, though, it’s an interesting angle in the consumer protection department. One must wonder what former AG Jim Mattox, “The People’s Lawyer,” would have done about “Cocaine” were he in office today. I actually suspect he may have taken similar action, but it would still be funny.

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