Pubdate: Wed, 28 Jun 2000 Source: Winnipeg Free Press (CN MB) Copyright: 2000 Winnipeg Free Press Contact: 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg Manitoba R2X 3B6 Fax: (204) 697-7288 Feedback: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/letters_to_editor/index.html Website: http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/ Author: Kim Guttormson CONTROVERSIAL LIQUEUR TARGETS MANITOBA FOR SALES Cocaine? Viagra? Or After-Dinner Drink? A CONTROVERSIAL liqueur that has been called cocaine in a bottle and has a reputation as an aphrodisiac and energy drink is looking for space on Manitoba shelves. The Liquor Control Commission will discuss next week whether Agwa -- a green spirit made from coca leaves, guarana and ginseng -- should be sold here. The liquor has caused a stir in Britain, where the Bishop of Brighton gave it the "cocaine in a bottle" label, and in Ontario, where the Alcohol and Gaming Commission wants changes made to the product's Web site. "Agwa is an herbal liqueur," says Andrew Stodart, who is importing the drink and has been selling it in Ontario and Alberta for about six months. "It doesn't contain cocaine. It's a perfectly legal product." Kerin Hawkins, spokeswoman for the Liquor Control Commission, said the listing committee meets next week to decide on whether to start selling a number of new alcoholic beverages, including Agwa. "They look at all the factors, including controversy," she said. A pharmaceutical company in Holland steeps the coca leaves to extract the flavour, and the company then extracts the cocaine for use in medicinal products. The company was originally using a distiller in Italy -- where the bales of coca leaves would be escorted from the airport by armed guards -- until local police were alarmed by the amount coming in, Stodart said. Agwa's main ingredients are beneficial in a number of ways, Stodart said. The guarana contains a high level of caffeine, the coca leaves dilate the blood vessels for increased oxygen flow which leads to more energy and the ginseng contributes to the drink's nickname -- Vi-agwa. But Stodart said they're not allowed to claim the drink offers any benefits, which is why he and the Web site list the properties of each component. Stories are accumulating about the beverage. Stodart, carrying a bottle of Agwa, was stopped at the American border by a drug-sniffing dog. Publications in England were reporting that the company was playing up the drug connection with promotions that included the drink being sold by "dealers", but Stodart said that didn't happen. In Canada, the advertising uses a South American tree frog and plays on the Vi-agwa implication. "There is no drug connotation at all," Stodart said. After articles ran in the Ottawa Citizen, the Ontario Alcohol and Gaming Commission took a look at the Web site -- whose address appears on the bottle -- and wants approval over customer's comments that appear and links that appear on the site. "The alcohol and gaming commission of Ontario has taken it upon themselves to be the censor for the world," he said, adding he's consulting with a lawyer. But the negative publicity hasn't hurt, he admits. After the Citizen articles appeared, sales in Ontario went from between 25 and 50 cases a month to 200 in a week. - --- MAP posted-by: Allan Wilkinson