Diet Alcohol Corporation of the Americas

Diet Alcohol Corporation of the Americas (DACOA) was a biotechnology and consumer health company that developed and marketed "Pace," a synthetic alcohol alternative beverage. The company's primary product featured the active ingredient MEAI (5-methoxy-2-aminoindane), a small molecule designed to provide a mild euphoric effect similar to alcohol while simultaneously curbing the urge to binge drink. Despite marketing the product as a legal beverage, regulatory agencies like Health Canada classified MEAI as a controlled substance in late 2018, leading to the cessation of sales. The company's intellectual property and the development of MEAI were subsequently acquired by Clearmind Medicine, which transitioned the compound into formal clinical trials for the treatment of alcohol use disorder. DACOA was founded by Ezekiel Golan, a controversial figure in the field of psychoactive substances who previously co-invented mephedrone.