CONTROVERSIAL CAFFEINE DRINK: "Cocaine"

We all know that controversy sells. It generates a lot of free PR... and gets everyone talking about your product.

But is the following too much?

(October 11, 2006) — First came rapper Nelly's "Pimp Juice" energy drink. Now a Las Vegas beverage company is making available "Cocaine."

While the illegal drug isn't among the new energy drink's ingredients, its name and humongous caffeine punch ought to be enough to keep "Cocaine" off the shelves of responsible storekeepers in the Rochester region.

Jamey Kirby says he got the idea for the drink at one o'clock in the morning. For obvious reasons, that's not hard to believe.

But Kirby should have come to his senses the next day and realized the implications involved. First, there's the message sent to young people. It glamorizes illegal drugs with the boast of "possible feelings of euphoria."

That so-called euphoria comes from 280 milligrams of caffeine, which is marketed as being "350 percent" more potent than Red Bull. An average cup of coffee, remember, contains 80 milligrams of caffeine.

Aside from online, the drink currently can be purchased only in New York City and California. New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg rightly called the product an "outrage."

True, marketing and selling this brand of Cocaine is legal. But beverage distributors and storekeepers in the Rochester region should keep in mind that that doesn't make it OK.