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Four Loko Alcohol Energy Drink Causing Young People to Black Out?
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by Amy Judd | June 17, 2010 at 11:32 am
429967 views | 21 Recommendations | 177 comments
Four Loko is an Alcohol Energy Drink That Some Are Saying Causes Young People To Black Out
Four Loko, made with guarana, taurine and caffeine, is said to contain 12 percent alcohol volume, which is almost three times the amount of a regular beer, and is being marketed as a 'caffeinated alcoholic beverage'.
It comes in a variety of flavors including Four Loko Cranberry Lemonade, Four Loko Watermelon, and Four Loko Brazilian Berry, and it is proving to be quite popular among young people that not only want to get their jolt of caffeine but also get drunk faster.
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It is however, also causing some controversy in some communities such as Delaware and was even called 'legalized liquid cocaine' by Reverend William Rocky Brown.
In a press conference with Nafis Nichols, the senior program coordinator for the Chester Youth Collaborative, Brown, the candidate for the state House of Representatives and the Chester Police Chaplain said:
“We know that this new drink is having our young people black out, We know that this new drink is being sold to minors. … We know that adults are standing in front of various locations and purchasing this drink for young people.”
According to the Delaware Country Daily Times, Brown said that he believes the Four Loko drinks are 'fueling the violence in the Delaware community' and he wants business owners to take it off the shelves.
“When you look at the packaging, it looks basically like a ginger ale soda or an Arizona tea,” said Brown, a preacher and former city councilman.
John Chong, one of the business owners who sells the product said if it is legal he can sell it and a worker thinks Brown is just using this issue and his store to gain political points.
“We’re mostly Democrats here,” said a worker named Dennis. “If he’s coming here, then he should go to every store in Chester that sells the stuff.”
Have you tried Four Loko?
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at 14:55 on June 17th, 2010
I like it! A nice way to thin out the shallow end of the gene pool.
at 12:40 on June 18th, 2010
I think that this is all pretty stupid. As an ADULT I like the drink. Personally, I think that taking away four loko is not going to stop young kids from "getting drunk and blacking out." It's sad to say, but in this society young kids have been going out and getting drunk since way before four loko came out. That doesn't mean you should get rid of a certain drink that people of age also enjoy, it means that kids these days need more boundaries, bottom line. If you get rid of four loko they will just find the next drink to make them black out. I also have never seen anybody get violent while drinking the beverage. This is all rubbish, plain and simple.
at 16:25 on August 4th, 2010
Kids also like henny, paul masson, e&j etc etc etc... ion c dat bn pulled off da shelves. Lets face it ppl especially kids r gona do wut dey want drink wut dey want when dey want. Its up 2 da parents 2 stop em. 1st dey wus buggn abt music n movies now its drinks I say we all jus get naked n go live n a cave so ppl will SHUDDUP!
at 08:57 on August 26th, 2010
i actually have seen someone get very violent while drinking four loko. such as holding a knife to my sisters throat saying he would kill her.. yeah he doesn't even know that happend. so i would deffinetly say this alcohol combo is not safe and should be taken off the shelves..
at 16:53 on August 27th, 2010
Sure you did. Even if you really did, not everybody reacts the same. For instance, I'm drinking one right now and mellowing out. You wanna judge a whole group by one instance? So you judge all black people by the actions of one robbing, thieving, killing person? Mmhmm, that's what I thought.
at 01:02 on September 5th, 2010
"Oh no! Someone with severe personal issues becomes overly aggressive while intoxicated!"Maybe he would be better off cutting alcohol completely and getting some professional help. "This alcohol combo" has nothing more to do with it than any other alcoholic drink. I've had Four Loko many times, as have many friends, and nothing ill has come of it. Honestly, the amount of sheer ignorance on display here is pathetic. ANYTIME someone drinks excessively they are prone to doing things otherwise out of character, and they also are more likely to not remember what they were doing that night. "This father drank too much whiskey and beat his kids! Ban the sale of whiskey!" It's an utterly flawed argument, and if you keep going at that rate, you won't have anything left for the responsible amongst us.I apologize for the rant, but it's always frustrating when people use the internet to spread half-baked opinions as some kind of truth without knowing two shits about the subject.
at 11:24 on September 9th, 2010
Have you not considered that this person was a psychopath already? I seriously doubt this is a common occurence for people who drink four loko
at 23:29 on September 9th, 2010
God you're stupud. I've heard people snort pixie sticks thinking it was coke and throw a ragefit. Four's are like drinking any normal alcohol and also consuming caffine. Anyone who has had a Jager Bomb has had a "Four" experience. My Question : How old are you? Can you even legally drink? Have you ever had a Four? And Lastly, Why should some idiot who can't contain his alcohol ruin the enjoyment of others? We ought to just ban all alcohol, because it appeals to kids. I mean, if you ask some minors who consumes alcohol what their favorite drink is, do you really think Four will be in the running for favorite beverage? No. Probably Jack Daniels, Bud Light, Bacardi, etc. So ban those first. Ah yeah, as a side note: I'm 25 years old. I enjoy this drink legally and responsibly. Don't ruin this for me with your idiotic bullshit.
at 18:48 on June 22nd, 2010
Where can I get some in Calgary AB Canada?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?
at 14:52 on June 24th, 2010
I think people is making a big thing out of this drink! Its just like all the other drinks that are sold..If four loko is such a big problem every legal alcohol beverage needs to be tooken off the market, this one drink is not the only drink that has people doing things.Alcohol or drugs changes a person, so for people to blam a new poplar drink needs to go back to school and see that if anyone drink a certain amount of alcohol they will be drunk... I had a four loko and it wasn't that bad and I'm not a drinker so I think people is taking it over board. Like I said If one alcohol beverage is to be tooken off the shelfs all alcohol beverages needs to be band.
at 15:18 on July 4th, 2010
You needs to get "tooken" behind the woodshed and beaten with a stick. Maybe if yous wud go bak to skool and get edjamacated you cud lern to rite
at 20:42 on August 1st, 2010
"Tooken," "shooken," etc. are common Pennsylvania Dutch/South Penn dialect-based pronunciations. Don't be so hard on the author of the post: his use of "tooken" is roughly the same as when Southern people say "y'all," when Westerners say "kie-oat" instead of "kie-oat-ee" (for the word "coyote"), when black people say "what's good,"or when small-town folks pronounce it "crick" instead of "creek."Lay off the guy, will ya?Hell, if people had written off George Orwell because he used the more antiquated word "ironical" instead of the more current word "ironic," the world would be devoid of two (arguably more) of the greatest novels of all time.
at 20:47 on August 1st, 2010
(To clarify: my point was that people need to ease up on the grammatical judgment-- not that the speaker is from South Penn. To be honest, it's probably more likely that he's ESL, which is even more reason why you need to give the poor guy a break. English is a bitch to learn!)
at 20:50 on August 1st, 2010
(My point being that you need to give the poor guy a break, not that he's from South Penn. I think it's more likely that he's an ESL writer, which is even more of a reason to quit hating on him: English is a bitch to learn!)
at 13:45 on August 10th, 2010
lmao ^^ haha
at 22:50 on August 25th, 2010
LMFAO!
at 16:14 on August 27th, 2010
Fail. On everything, please do not write in a public forum again. Reading your atrocious spelling and grammar makes everyone a little dumber. "Took" yourself back to school.
at 21:52 on June 30th, 2010
It's just like sparks and thats been around awhile. I personally wont purchase again cause I can clearly taste the low grade alcohol. But to ban this drink is ludacris. There are plenty of other drinks (like sparks) youngsters will drink anyways.
at 07:56 on July 31st, 2010
a rapper is now banning drinks? well that's a surprise-- but i think it's ludicrous not to, if not ban the drink, at least attempt to market it to a different age group. while you're drinking it you don't even know you're drunk until it's too late (at least that was my experience). so maybe sparks should be banned as well?
at 09:16 on July 31st, 2010
lolololol
at 11:03 on July 4th, 2010
I think Four Loko should be banned. As an 6'1" 180 pound adult male who has been drinking for well over ten years, drinking Loko is probably the most frightening drunken experience I've ever had. What is so scary about Loko is that it looks and tastes like a harmless soda or energy drink. But a single can of Loko packs the punch of an entire night of heavy liquor drinking combined with the effects of all that sugar, caffeine and liquid crack. It is also purposely packaged, marketed and sold to teenagers who cannot handle this deadly cocktail of alcohol and sugar. It is unethical at the least to market such a dangerous drink to the most vulnerable drinking demographic. Mixing alcohol, caffeine and sugar with raging teenage hormones and undeveloped adolescent minds inevitably leads to violent behavior, serious accidents, death and tragedy. Sadly, Loko is all the rage with kids all over the country. Where I live in Baltimore, teenagers, college students and unemployed twenty-somethings drink Loko in public view on a daily basis. When I was growing up back in the 90's, we had stuff like 40's of St. Ide's and Steel Reserve. But as youngsters, we usually passed out or threw up if we managed to guzzle all forty ounces of the nasty swill. Loko makes St. Ide' look like Similac baby formula. The caffeine keeps drinkers awake long after they should have passed out. Drinkers of Loko are almost guaranteed a complete blackout as well. I never blacked out once in my life until I drank a can of Loko. Please take this evil liquid crack off the shelf.
at 12:01 on July 9th, 2010
I agree 100%. I have drank it 3 times. I blacked out every time and got extremely violent and stayed up till 6 in the morning!!! Four loko is extremely dangerous!!! It is most definately marketed to youngsters with it's vibrant colors and very very very low price. There is no need to have a drink that tastes like candy, and is 12%. I will never drink it again. EVER. And to any one who says that kids have always drank, yeah they have and will, but let's not give them liquid candy crack okay?
at 10:42 on July 22nd, 2010
There is a very simple solution to this and its one that both of you can easily do in one easy step. Ready? Step 1: Do not drink four......... Thats it. As Kevin Smith once said, "Handle your high". is it really that hard to know your limitations? Seriously three times? I can understand you getting negative effects one time. Hell I get the second time too. Maybe the first time was circumstantial. But three times? Thats on you buddy, handle your high. Its not a difficult concept, is it? One loco is roughly equivalent to a bottle of wine, hell yeah that is a lot but that is why you dont just dive in a treat it as every other drink. be smart and HANDLE YOUR HIGH............. -Cody
at 16:24 on July 30th, 2010
Very well said! Yes kids will drink, I agree the can could and maybe should be changed but don't take it away from adults who can responsibly handle the drink!!!!! Everyone knows their limits. If you're drinking to black out that's your fault. You can black out from drinking beer. Should beer be taken off the shelves too?? Stop drinking it if it's making you black out.....genius.
at 11:42 on August 3rd, 2010
Four Loko is no different than any other drink. If it makes you black out and become violent than you shouldn't be drinking. When I drink Four Loko I go to sleep after a couple of hours just like I do from any other type of alcohol. I personally don't think it tastes good, but it gives a very strong buzz. It's just like any other alcoholic beverage. When I drink wine I find that I cannot speak or function but with Four Loko I can talk and move around without passing out from being drunk. People these days just try to take away anything that younger people can have fun with and I'm not just saying underage people. Beer needs to be banned before this because many underage people will just get a 24 -pack bud light and go to town before drinking four Loko.
at 07:49 on August 24th, 2010
UR A PUSSY!!!
at 12:36 on September 1st, 2010
So which is it? You blacked out or stayed up until 6am? It is called responsible drinking people. Not every one can do that, but those of us who can don't wish to have another one of our freedoms taken (or tooken depending on where you reside I guess) away. If you don't like it then don't drink it. If people applied this rule to things more often we would all be better off.
at 10:11 on September 7th, 2010
I actually like this drink but do not disagree with people trying to ban it. The facts are yes kids have and will continue tto drink alcohol, but this drink isnt just alcohol. This drink is very high in alcohol percentage and tastes great makin it easier to get drunker faster, and has so much caffeine in it keeps you up to continue drinking insteadf passing out like you might drinking other alcohlic drinks. Caffeine is proven to make you feel less drunk when you are and making you more confident in your judgement although your coordination and judgement iss off. People say coffee sobers them up when really it doesnt it just makes you feel that way look it up. On top of that it is targeted to young kids for many many reasons!!! This drink is very dangerous every time ive drank this ive blacked out and the people i was with each time have had the same effect. I continue to make this bad decision knowingly but would not want my loved ones making the same, such as younger siblings significant others... I enjoy this drink and what it does to me and would be upset to go into the store one weekend and not be able to purchase it but wouldnt encourage anyone I cared about to drink it, bannin this drink would probably be a good idea honestly!!!
at 11:28 on July 14th, 2010
You know, you complain that it should be taken off, but it is a huge seller. You compare it to a night of drinking hard liquor, when one can equivocates 4-6 beers, depending on the type you drink. How can 6 beer cause you to BLACK OUT if you have 10 years experience behind you. Also, the fact that it claims it is a MALT beverage should send red flags that it does take time to kick in, just like any other form of alcohol you consume. There is absolutely no reason to say one will cause you to black out, unless you are just a lightweigtht. Four loko and Joose should be able to provide their products just as Budweiser, Seagrams, or any other alcohol company. I do believe it is "Always remember to drink RESPONSIBLY." Why don't you try that before lashing out with a much less than expert opinion in the matter.
at 07:59 on July 31st, 2010
not if you're the KID it's marketed to...