KEY POINTS:
A controversial energy drink named after a Class A drug and likened to party pills is coming to New Zealand.
Cocaine Energy Drink, which contains three-and-a-half times the caffeine of Red Bull, is due to be on the shelves by August.
The American product, banned in Texas, is being distributed by Christchurch-based Wize Marketing, which said it would be breaking no Kiwi law.
But the move has been criticised by a leading educationist who warned children could get hooked.
Wize director Geoff Percy, whose company is also involved in the party pill business, said an initial shipment would contain 200,000 cans of Cocaine and its sister drink Brawndo. The drink, which also comes in a sugar-free variety, will retail for about $2.99.
Percy expected outrage from some parts of society but defended the drink as "beautiful" and said its name was "edgy". "There are party pills out there called things like Crank [a US street name for strong amphetamine]... then there's Coke. What's the difference?"
Cocaine is produced by Las Vegas-based Redux Beverages and caused national outrage in the US when it was launched in 2006.
Its website carries a parental consent advisory and it was pulled from US shelves for a time while the legality of its trademark was disputed.
Percy predicted the product would shake up New Zealand's energy drink business and give market leader Red Bull a run for its money.
"It's a good product, a really nice drink. There has been a lot of research done into the flavour."
While he expected the drink to be on shelves by mid-August, he said he was taking steps to making it R18 because it was a "stimulant" unsuitable for children.
He said drinking a 240ml can was "very similar to taking a mild dose of BZP" _ the recently-banned chemical compound found in party pills.
Each can contains 280mg of caffeine, 750mg of taurine and guarana.
Percy had a can about 11pm one night and was unable to sleep until 4am, but he denied claims of some overseas experts who said it could cause heart palpitations.
He believed energy drinks were the future of safe partying and, despite distributing some non-BZP stimulant pills, believed they had had their day. "They need to be made to a proper standard [and] controlled," he said.
The pills he brought in from the US were approved by the US Food and Drug Administration, he said.
Post Primary Teachers Association head Robin Duff said the drink's name was a "cynical marketing ploy" that had set out to be "cool", but he stopped short of calling for a ban. "The moment you do that will be the moment it suddenly becomes popular," he said.
Duff said caffeine could become "hugely addictive" which was of concern, especially when young people were concerned.
