Root beer is traditionally made from the sassafras root which American Indians used as a medicine. It started being sold in confectionary stores in the 1840s and was marketed as a medicine.
Sassafras ended as an ingredient in 1960 when the FDA banned safrole, the oil it contained. Laboratory animals developed liver damage and cancer after getting large doses.
Sassafras William Lawrence Sr Omnibit 10-15-18
