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October 25, 2010 in Region
Drinks, not drugs, sickened CWU students
Cans of Four Loko are seen on display at a liquor store in Palo Alto, Calif., Oct. 18, 2010.
(Full-size photo)
ELLENSBURG — Sugary, high-alcohol energy drinks that are popular with college students who want to get drunk quickly and cheaply came under renewed scrutiny today as investigators announced that nine freshmen had been hospitalized after drinking them at an off-campus party.
Several states are considering outlawing the drinks and at least two universities have banned them from campus while the Food and Drug Administration reviews their safety.
The issue received new attention after the Oct. 8 party in Roslyn, a picturesque mountain town known as the place where part of the 1990s television series “Northern Exposure” was filmed.
Police first responded to a report of an unconscious female in a grocery store parking lot and learned about the party from her friends. At the home, officers found a chaotic scene, with students from nearby Central Washington University passed out and so intoxicated that investigators thought they had overdosed on drugs.
Nine students who drank a caffeinated malt liquor called Four Loko were hospitalized with blood-alcohol levels ranging from 0.12 percent to 0.35 percent, and a female student nearly died, CWU President James L. Gaudino said. A blood-alcohol concentration of 0.30 percent is considered potentially lethal.
All the hospitalized students were inexperienced drinkers — freshmen ranging in age from 17 to 19. Toxicology results showed no drugs in their bloodstreams, though a small amount of marijuana was reported at the party, university police Chief Steve Rittereiser said.
Some students admitted drinking vodka, rum and beer with Four Loko, which is made by Phusion Projects Inc., of Chicago.
Phusion said in a statement that people have consumed caffeine and alcohol together safely for years. The company said it markets its products responsibly to those of legal drinking age and shares with college administrators the goal of making campuses safe and healthy environments.
“The unacceptable incident at Central Washington University, which appears to have involved hard liquor, such as vodka and rum, beer, our products, and possibly illicit substances, is precisely why we go to great lengths to ensure our products are not sold to underage consumers and are not abused,” the statement said.
The FDA sent a warning letter to Phusion Products in November 2009 asking the company for information that shows adding caffeine to alcoholic beverages is safe, and the case remains open, the agency said in a statement Monday.
Four Loko comes in several varieties, including fruit punch and blue raspberry. A 23.5-ounce can sells for about $2.50 and has an alcohol content of 12 percent, comparable to four beers, according to the company’s website.
Health advocates say the caffeine in the drink can also suspend the effects of alcohol consumption, allowing a person to consume more than usual.
“It gets you really drunk really fast and it gives you a lot of energy so you’re not going to be laying down and sleeping,” said 18-year-old CWU freshman Hyatt Van Cotthem of Everett, who said he’s tried the beverage but doesn’t drink it because the taste is “nasty.” He didn’t attend the party.
Regulating such drinks would be a good idea, Cotthem said, because he’s seen so many students do dumb things when drinking it. But he and a friend also questioned that the drink alone could have wreaked so much havoc.
“There’s no way that Four Loko caused all these people to just pass out,” he said.
The nine sickened students have recovered and returned to their classes. No criminal charges have been filed, but Rittereiser said the investigation into the source of the alcohol continues.
Gaudino banned alcoholic energy drinks from CWU’s campus today, following the president of New Jersey’s Ramapo College, who banned the drinks last month after attributing several students’ hospitalizations to Four Loko.
“It’s not that we’d seen a lot of consumption, but we’d seen enough that it worried us, because it was in situations of extreme intoxication,” Ramapo President Peter Mercer said Monday. “Having seen no redeeming social use for it, and seeing the damage and danger it could pose, I ordered a ban.”
Mercer said he eagerly awaits the results of the FDA review and supports a measure to ban the drinks in New Jersey.
Utah and Montana have restricted the sale of the caffeinated malt liquors to just state liquor stores. A bill to ban the drinks in Washington state failed in the Legislature earlier this year, but McKenna and Gov. Chris Gregoire said they would support another effort.
McKenna also said his office would review the marketing of such drinks, particularly to minors, to determine if consumer protection laws have been violated. The state previously raised concerns with the nation’s two largest brewers, MillerCoors LLC and Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, about similar drinks.
“We never brought a lawsuit against them because they acted like good corporate citizens and removed the products,” McKenna said.
Steven Schmidt, a spokesman for the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association, said many states feel they need to act quickly on the issue because the drinks are increasing in popularity.
“There’s really a sense that people consuming these drinks don’t understand how much alcohol they are drinking,” he said. “These products pack a punch, and they are relatively inexpensive.”
© Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Three dead, three wounded in Seattle shootings 
indy11722 on October 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Gov’t trying to restrict everything (even legal alcohol), yet another violation of our rights. Add it to the list of gov’t violations of our right:
They violate the 1st Amendment by fencing-in demonstrators at G-20, banning books like “America Deceived II” and trying to take-over the internet.
They violate the 2nd Amendment by confiscating guns.
They violate the 4th and 5th Amendment by wireless wiretapping.
They violate the entire Constitution by starting undeclared wars.
Impeach Obama (and sweep out the Congress, except Ron Paul).
[Link of Banned Book]:
http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000190526
PlanB on October 25 at 1:00 p.m.
Why do we need another law telling us what we can or cannot consume? Why is that always the default action?
Bob_Knows on October 25 at 1:01 p.m.
DUH! Everyone with a mind knew that to begin with. Its only the manginas and feminists who try to find excuses to spew anti-men hatred every day in their “news” programs who leapt wildly to accuse men of fictional “date rape” drugs. It was another in their long line of anti-men hate campaigns. Its the next play in their hate speech series after the false “rape-hate” accusations last year at WSU.
CWU administration, blue gun thug hate mongers, and mangina talking heads from TV “news” hate propaganda outlets should all be summarily fired for anti-men bigotry. Hate against half the population is not tolerated by decent people.
eagleproducer on October 25 at 1:17 p.m.
Dang… Four Loc strikes again!
dcben on October 25 at 2:30 p.m.
Does someone need a math lesson?
A Sierra Nevada is about 5.9% alcohol. A Bud is 5.0.
Where are you getting the equivalence of 5-6 beers in a 23.5 ounce serving?
These kids are lightweights.
swensel on October 25 at 2:33 p.m.
Bob_Knows - Woman-hater much? You claim that “Hate against half the population is not tolerated by decent people” but you yourself are spewing hate against ~55% of the population.
The real issue with this drink is that that caffeine provides a false sense of sobriety and that these drinks are being marketed to newly legal (so the industry says - watch the ads and see what you think) drinkers who have relatively little experience with alcohol.
The real problem here is the binge-drinking culture on too many college campuses. For crying out loud, why are they marketing in a 23.5 oz. can? That’s a lot of alcohol in a “single drink” and yet some students were adding more.
pagodaboy on October 25 at 2:57 p.m.
Deceptive headline isn’t it? Since when is alcohol not a drug?
gdj11 on October 25 at 3:23 p.m.
Mixing alcohol and energy drinks has been going on for years. Ever heard of a Redbull/vodka? It’s idiotic to think that banning drinks like Four Loko will all of a sudden make college kids drink responsibly. They’re kids.
kneedrager on October 25 at 4:39 p.m.
Agree with most, new laws aren’t needed.
This is a case of natural selection, these kids didn’t learn about drinking at a young enough age, maybe we need to drop the drinking age to 16-18 like the rest of the world and train these kids up before they go on their own?
Just sayin..
oneanddone on October 25 at 4:48 p.m.
What we got here is a need for prostitution - whoops, I mean prohibition.
But seriously, why does government always think they have to protect every dumass from themselves. Never works. It’s a nice thought. Sorta like having another dad. Put the info out there and let the chips fall.
monkeyman on October 25 at 4:59 p.m.
@dcben - just wondering if you figured out the math yet?
Hint - a typical beer can is 12oz…
lewis8457 on October 25 at 6:00 p.m.
big brother says alcohol is good and healthy otherwise they wouldn’t sell it would they? Same with Tobacco, now if the drink had THC in it well then it would be bad for you, but alcohol is good that is what big brother says. so isn’t it true…….burp!
chouligirl on October 25 at 9:31 p.m.
college freshman…they learned a valuable lesson on drinking…maybe they learned no to do that again!!
stop the BS about trying to ban everything just because you think it isn’t right. “Having seen no redeeming social use for it, and seeing the damage and danger it could pose, I ordered a ban.” Who made this guy the king of **** mountain?? Thanks, but keep your judgements to yourself. I have my own brain and would like to use it to think for myself.
BitofBacon on October 25 at 11:13 p.m.
Bob_Knows-I can’t figure out which group you hate more, cops or women.
eagleproducer on October 26 at 8:21 a.m.
bacon: Cops here! I love women and all they do for our culture!
ambworth on October 29 at 1:51 a.m.
Have they not figured it out yet? They ban this these youngsters will find something else. There gonna have to learn the hard ways.