Redbull, Rockstar, and Monster are only a few names of energy drinks available. Seeing healthy profit margins, the market has been flooded. In order to generate buzz to drive sales new entries have done everything from spending millions on Superbowl commercials to naming their drinks after a hard drug.

The Cocaine energy drink (wikipedia entry) grew through explosive internet buzz and lasted long enough to make an appearance in a rock music video.

Unfortunately the name has drawn the scrutiny of federal regulators, and the plug was pulled this past Saturday. The company plans on changing the name.

The hypocrisy comes from a popular soft drink named Coca-Cola. Unlike the Cocaine energy drink, Coca-Cola at one time actually contained real Cocaine. When researching this blog post I discovered that Coca-Cola still contains byproducts of real Coca leaves. Unlike the Cocaine Energy drink, largely consumed by adults for entertainment purposes (it tastes like crap), Coca-Cola is aggresively marketed to all ages and sold in schools around the United States and world.

From CNN — “Our goal is to literally flush Cocaine down the drain across the nation,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who announced the company’s agreement with his state Monday. “Our main complaint about Cocaine is its name and marketing strategy seeking to glorify illegal drug use and exploit the allure of marketing ‘Speed in a Can,’ as it called the product.”

I have a red Coca-Cola glass sitting right next to me on my desk. I don’t believe that the FDA or any state should go after Coca-Cola. Nor should they interfere with the production, marketing, or distribution of the Cocaine energy drink. Its disturbing to think that while someone at the FDA is wasting time on this, a grocery store could be selling botulated olives or something that could actually kill someone.