The McDonald's Cocaine Spoon Fiasco

If you were around in the 1970s, you might remember the McDonalds coffee spoon, which was nicknamed the McSpoon. It was small, well-designed, perfect for stirring coffee, with a scoop about size of a nostril, and could hold exactly 100 milligrams of cocaine. Of course, most people used the disposable spoon to stir sugar in their coffee, but it was the Model Drug Paraphernalia Act that brought the minority use of the spoon to the general public. Under the act, which was only enacted at the state level, innocuous items such as baggies and straws could be labeled a “drug paraphernalia.”

Just prior to the creation of the Model Drug Paraphernalia Act, then-Senators Joe Biden and Charles Mathias held a hearing in Baltimore, where the Paraphernalia Trade Association (who represents headshop vendors) could voice their concerns. The PTA swiftly went about arguing that, under such a broad definition, anything could be deemed “paraphernalia.”

According to minutes from the hearing, one PTA representative attempted to make a mockery of the proposed law. “Look at this,” he facetiously told the panel, thrusting a McDonald’s coffee stirring spoon above his head. “This is the best cocaine spoon in town and it’s free with every cup of coffee at McDonalds.”

His intention was to highlight how vague and overreaching the act was, but it set into motion a storm of controversy for McDonalds and the demise of the McSpoon. Oh, you can still get one, but they’re collector’s items now, and will cost you. Read the story of the little spoon that was a casualty of the War on Drugs at Pricenomics.