Receiving a bundle of emails, containing jokes from a dear friend, one email in particular caught my eye. This one contained information that seemed to have more than a ring of truth to it and required further investigation.

The email showed a few drinks from the past that had included what today would be classed as hard drugs. By this I mean drugs such as heroine and cocaine which are illegal in most right minded countries.

The ring of truth stems from the fact that I am old enough to remember the use of cocaine at the dentists. Pre Novocaine days people, and children such as me, were injected with cocaine as the numbing substance for teeth removal and having fillings.

Here is what I have found out about one use for cocaine which was Coca Wine. Of course this hub is not glorifying such drinks or advocating that anyone sets to and tries to make such wine. It is simply to show how times change. There will no doubt eventually be such substances from our time which wil eventually become banned or maligned.

For me I found this subject interesting and amusing, and I hope you do to.

Cocaine is produced from the leaves of the Coca Plant. Cocaine is so called as a referral to Coca and with an added suffix -ine, as it is basically an alkaloid.

Coca was introduced in to western countries in 1859 by Paulo Mantegazza. He had returned to Italy from Peru where he had been fascinated to see the local natives use Coca on a regular basis. After trying Cocaine for himself he wrote a study paper in which he showed what he felt were the medicinal benefits of Coca and Cocaine

Having read this paper Angelo Mariani thought he could envisage some commercial success from cocaine and coca. Similar drinks had the wine that he developed.

It would seem that people all over the world were enjoying a little cocaine in their favourite tipple, as Coca Cola drunk in the states at this time also had cocaine on its list of ingredients. With time, of course, this has changed. The distinct flavour which the coca leaves provided has been replaced with a synthetic flavouring.

By the late 1800s it was possible to buy cocaine as a diet aid. Cocaine was even available over the counter supplied with a handy needle ready for injecting into ones self. It was thought to be non addictive and cause less harm than good.

Time has told how wrong those early producers were.

However Cocaine has only been listed as a controlled substance in the USA since 1970.

COCA WINE

Vin Mariani was the most popular Coca Wine of its day. It was first produced in 1863. It is reported that the Pope of the day so loved this drink that he always carried a small bottle about his person.

Pemberton's French Wine Coca was hot on its heels though and became popular in the United States. John Pemberton who devised the original recipe for Pemberton's Wine had to re-think his ingredients when Prohibition was passed in the US state of Georgia. Of course this did not mean he had to change the Coca but simply find a substitute for the wine element of his drink.

The non-alcoholic syrup that he eventually used made Pemberton's French Wine Coca have a similar taste to the early version of Coca Cola.

With nationwide Prohibition in the US and people's up to date understanding of the possible side effects of narcotics, Coca Wine became less popular. Once the cocaine was removed from the wine it lost its appeal altogether.

It is interesting to see what was popular and acceptable in years gone by, isn't it. As I have already said there is no doubt that some of what we accept as normal these days will in future years cause amusement or horror.

One such obvious substance is nicotine.