Say what you will about the energy drink phenomenon, the sector has changed the way people think about beverages. Today beverages offer to revive your body, stimulate your mind, enhance your muscles, protect your immune system, burn your calories, improve your complexion, build your vocabulary, walk your dog...the list goes on and on.
When I came to grips with this explosion of beverages offerings I started to think that all the most potent illicit pleasures of the world, (amphetamines, cannabis, opiates, sex) will re-emerge in the beverage sector. The profound appeal is the same, but the beverage vehicle is convenient, safe, hip, and legal (for kids and adults).
So, the thinking goes, energy drinks are liquid cocaine, and the new playboy drink is a pioneer step towards liquid sex. Alcohol fills the role of a liquid opiate, but because it isn’t legal (or acceptable for all) it can’t own the entire territory. Where is drink that can mellow you out and relieve pain? Where is the drink that gives you a little taste of the psychedelic?
My contention is simply this: universally, humans have virtually identical brain biochemistry and universally, the mind states provided by amphetamines, cannabis, opiates, and sex, have proved extremely captivating. We have already seen examples of beverages that provide more and more functional benefits and even those that begin to embrace the aforementioned illicit pleasures. For better or worse there is demand for this trend, especially among kids.
