"Danger Danger, High Voltage!"
In a huge blow to cheap low income folks all over the State of Washington, the State’s Liquor Control Board has decided to ban “blackout in can” drinks like Four Loko, the drink above:
(Reuters) – Washington state’s Liquor Control Board has voted to ban sales of high-alcohol energy drinks, known as “blackout in a can,” following the hospitalization of nine students in the state last month.
Washington is the second state to outlaw the new crop of highly caffeinated, heavy-alcohol beverages popular with young people after Michigan banned them earlier this month.
The emergency ban will last for 120 days from November 17, while the board goes through the procedure of introducing a permanent ban.
Major brewers such as Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller stopped making drinks mixing alcohol and caffeine after pressure from various states, but smaller companies have filled the gap in the market.
In October, nine Central Washington University college students were hospitalized after drinking quantities of Four Loko brand drinks and similar beverages off-campus. According to the university, the blood-alcohol level of the students ranged from .123 to .35, where .30 is considered lethal.
Four Loko, a highly sugared and caffeinated malt liquor made by Phusion Projects, is 12 percent alcohol, which means one 23.5-ounce can is comparable to drinking five or six beers.
Holy crap! 12 percent?! I’m too impressed to even consider that: 24 oz at 12% is literally like drinking a bottle of wine…in a can…that is brightly colored…that tastes like regurgitated red bull…that makes drinking MD 20-20 look classy and expensive.
I am Very Impressed. Impressed that this stuff exists in a state with: Red Bull, Vodka, Columbia Valley wines, Red Hook, intelligent people, and the highest minimum wage in the country ($8.55). If these BS government crackdowns continue, all these Washingtonians are gonna have to start drinking mouthwash!