New York City lawmakers are calling for a boycott of the new, highly caffeinated soft drink called Cocaine, the New York Times reports. They say it glamorizes an illegal and deadly stimulant. “There are only two reasons that you would seek to use this infamous and insidious name to market your so-called energy drink,” said Councilman James Sanders Jr. of Queens. “Either you are woefully ignorant of the horrors of cocaine addiction, or your god is the dollar bill, and not even human life is more sacred.”
The beverage was introduced last month by its manufacturer, Redux Beverages L.L.C., in southern California. While its Web site states that “we don't advocate drug use,” it suggests that the carbonated beverage be mixed with alcohol – offering recipes for cocktails with names like Liquid Cocaine, Cocaine Smash, Cocaine Blast and even Cocaine Snort. The site promotes the beverage's page on MySpace, the social-networking Internet site that is popular among children and teenagers. Joseph A. Califano Jr., president of the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, used five adjectives – insidious, disgraceful, irresponsible, reprehensible and disgusting – to describe the drink. James Kirby co-founder of the manufacturer, told the Times: “I think most people are smart, and they know the difference between an energy drink and a Class A narcotic.”
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/03/nyregion/03cocaine.html?ref=nyregion