A marijuana drink from Coca Cola might not be distant

Washington, Sept 19: Soft drinks giant Coca Cola has said that it is targeting the cannabis drinks market which saw Aurora Cannabis Inc. led pot stocks went up, Bloomberg reported. With this, Coca Cola became the latest beverage firm to eye the growing demand for marijuana products as traditional sales have slowed down, the report added.

It was told on behalf of Coca Cola that it is keeping a watch on the fledgling industry and is interested to make drinks infused with CBD (Cannabidiol) which is a non-psychoactive ingredient in marijuana which doesn't make one high and also treat pain, the Bloomberg report added. Coca Cola is also in talks with Canada's marijuana producer Aurora Cannabis to work on the beverage, according to one report from BNN Bloomberg Television.

"We are closely watching the growth of non-psychoactive CBD as an ingredient in functional wellness beverages around the world," Bloomberg News quoted Coca-Cola spokesman Kent Landers who said to have emailed it his statement.

The news catapulted Aurora's shares by as much as 23 per cent in New York on Monday, September 17, to $8. Other stocks in the cannabis industry also went high after the beverage giant expressed its interest.

Coca Cola has been aiming diversification since consumption of soda continues to head south. It expressed interest in acquiring Costa Coffee chain for $5.1 billion in August and has also focused on making products like tea, mineral water and juice over the past 10 years.