A high powered energy drink is causing a fuss as children buy Cocaine after school.
Cocaine is a new high caffeine energy drink that's causing quite a fuss in the mostly inner-city convenience stores where it's become available in recent months. The drink containing 280mg of caffeine per can, more than a Starbuck's Grande coffee, is being vilified by anti-drug advocates who say letting teens and children buy the drink sends the wrong message. The drinks can bears powdery white lettering and touts the beverage as," The Legal Alternative."
Conceived and created for the LA and New York club scene, the drink has now found it's way to the mainstream market. Stores make no effort to control the beverage and it's quickly become popular among teens and pre-teens who see it as a way to be cool and rebellious. Besides the aura of drug use, the drink is also under fire because the amounts of caffeine it contains could be dangerous if misused.
The maker said they don't advocate drug use and there is no illegal substance in the drink, but they do boast about the amount of caffeine it contains, saying it'll give you a high and tingly euphoric feeling within five minutes of drinking. They say to drink responsibly. Health experts agree warning too much could be dangerous.
Parents say that the idea of promoting drug use in order to sell a product only creates more issues in neighborhoods who are already so hard hit by drug sales and violence. One New York City councilman even organized a protest condemning the sales.
One
review of the product says that the effects last 5-6 hours and are so powerful it may also cause,"throat numbing effects". Not what I want in my morning pick me up!
