Vin Mariani — wine with cocaine, which was drunk by Popes, writers and politicians

Nowadays, cocaine is considered an absolute evil, but it wasn't always like that. In the 19th century, the narcotic substance obtained from the leaves of the South American coca plant was used very widely and quite legally. Cocaine was a part of many medicines, and in 1863 the first cocaine wine Vin Mariani appeared on sale.

The inventor of the wine Vin Mariani — Italian winemaker, chemist and entrepreneur Angelo Mariani (1832-1914) named the drink after himself, because he was not only a producer, but also the creator of a unique recipe. The unusual wine was made on the basis of Bordeaux wines, but coca leaf extract, a little brandy for strength and sugar were added to it.

The full name of the product was Vin tonique Mariani à la Coca de Pérou and according to the classification of that time it was a tonic — an invigorating, body-boosting drink. In Europe, the novelty was received with delight. Expensive cocaine wine immediately fell in love with the creative elite.

Among the admirers of Vin Mariani were writers Anatole France, Heinrich Ibsen, Alexandre Dumas-son, Emile Zola, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne and the great scientist Thomas Edison. I had to taste the wine and in The Vatican. As many as two Popes of Rome — Leo XIII and Pius X were his passionate fans.

It got to the point that Leo XIII publicly declared the positive properties and taste qualities of wine, and Pius X presented Mariani with a gold medal for merit. The wine was liked not only by the Catholic elite — the chief rabbi of France, Tzaddik Kahn, once said: "My transformation is over! Pray for Mariani wine!". What the respected rebbe meant is not entirely clear, but, apparently, it was good for him.

Cocaine wine conquered Europe quickly, but there was a snag with America. In the USA, it was bought very sluggishly and soon Angelo Mariani understood why. Vin Mariani contained only 6 milligrams of cocaine per 30 milliliters of wine. Americans are used to more saturated cocaine cocktails — they sold drinks with 10 milligrams per 30 milliliters.

The creator of the wine had to increase the dose of the drug in his wine specifically for the American market. He did not lose — the updated cocaine wine made a splash among Americans. One of the great connoisseurs of the tonic drink was the 18th President of the United States Ulysses S. Grant.

A little later, Mariani created an even more concentrated version, known as the "Mariani Elixir". It was a product based on the same wine, but it already had three times more cocaine in it! If a person drank the 60 milliliters of tonic recommended by the manufacturer per day, then the dose of cocaine was 20 milligrams, and this is already a lot.

The tightening of laws in relation to cocaine in the early 20th century led to the end of the triumph of Vine Mariani. At first, it was necessary to reduce the amount of "active substance" in the drink, and then one or another country began to close its markets for cocaine wine. Gradually, the drink was outlawed almost everywhere and its production was stopped.

Previously, in general, dangerous substances were treated much more simply and heroin or arsenic were freely in the window of any pharmacy.