The Massachusetts Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission plans to file for an emergency regulation to stop the sales of alcohol energy drinks that contain stimulants. The popular drink Four Loko is marketed as “premium 24 ounce caffeinated alcohol beverage.” The problem seems to be that it has a lot of alcohol (12%), a lot of caffeine (135 milligrams), and a fruity taste not associated with either alcohol or caffeine. The packaging makes it look like a fruit drink. Emergency Room doctors who have seen patients who overdose on Four Loko say that the caffeine hides the effect of the alcohol, leading young folks to drink too much and resulting in bodily failures. Massachusetts motor vehicle accident attorneys urge everyone to use extreme caution around this drink, to avoid it before driving or undertaking any other action of responsibility, and, frankly, to simply avoid it.
Four Loko has been responsible for motor vehicle accidents, including an Arizona personal injury case involving a single vehicle collision of a teenager in Arizona who had a blood alcohol level of .15%. A fatality in the north Texas town of Denton is attributed to a teenager drinking Four Loko.
A Florida woman who was seriously injured in a motor vehicle collision has filed a law suit against the manufacturers of Four Loco. She was the passenger in a car and was ejected from the vehicle as a result of the driver’s negligence. The victim says that Four Loco was a factor in the collision which involved a collision with another vehicle at a high rate of speed.
Four Loko is already banned in Oklahoma, Michigan, Utah and Delaware, with other states, including New York, considering a Four Loko ban. New Hampshire’s liquor commission has yet to approve of Four Loko. Boston University, Northeastern University, Boston College, and Harvard administrations all have warned their students of the potential dangers of the drink. Somerville passed a resolution asking that the state consider banning Four Loko, and urged vendors in Somerville to discontinue sales. At the federal level, United States Senator Charles Schumer is asking for a ban on Four Loko.