$2BN of pure COCAINE produced in NJ each year for is 'intended for US healthcare professionals only'

A small chemical processing plant hidden in Maywood, NJ has been processing coca leaves for Coca-Cola for over 100 years and is now run by a chemical manufacturer called Stepan Company.

Stephan Company imports coca leaves into the US on behalf of The Coca-Cola Company and manufactures as much as $2 billion of pure cocaine every year.

The leaves are used to produce a 'decocainized' ingredient for the iconic soda and the cocaine byproduct is sold to the nation's largest opioid manufacturer, which markets the powder as a numbing agent and topical anesthetic for dentists.

In 1988, the Associated Press reported that St. Louis pharmaceutical giant Mallinckrodt was the only entity in the US permitted to receive the cocaine from Stepan.

Mallinckrodt lists 'cocaine hydrochloride', the technical term for powdered cocaine, as available for purchase on its website.

'Cocaine Hydrochloride USP CII' can be purchased in 5 or 25 gram quantities, but is 'intended for US healthcare professionals only,' the site reads.

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