From my cover story this week in the Ventura County Reporter:
In his presentations on the hazards of alcoholic energy drinks around Ventura County, administrator of the Behavioral Health Department Dan Hicks likes to show a photograph of the aftermath of a horrific accident in 2007.
A car driven by a young man hit a tree so hard it nearly came apart.
“This accident happened at the intersection of Williams and Gonzales, which is right outside my office,” he said. “The Oxnard police responded, and they interviewed the passenger and asked him if he had been drinking. ‘Well, we had some energy drinks,’ ” he said.
In the car, the police found a can of Joose Blue, which is nearly 9 percent alcohol by volume, in a can about twice the size of a beer can, which makes it equivalent to close to four beers, though it costs about $2.50.
“That was a real eye-opener,” Hicks said. “The fact that they survived says a lot more about the side impact bags on a Nissan than it does for the skills of a driver on ‘Joose.’ ”
Even Hicks, who has been working to reduce underage drinking in the county for nearly five years, hadn’t fully realized how popular alcoholic energy drinks were among young people — and how little adults knew about the risks.
“It’s sort of like a generation gap in awareness,” he said. “When I was a kid in high school, we used to hide our beers in plastic wraps. Today, the beverage companies take care of that for you. A lot of adults don’t even know that energy drinks can contain alcohol. A counselor in San Diego gave a presentation to some teachers at a middle school, and went out at lunchtime and counted 12 students with alcoholic energy drinks. They didn’t need to conceal it because the adults didn’t even know these drinks existed.”
For the rest of the story -- which really was eye-opening to yours truly -- please click here.
And here's a picture of one such energy drink.
"Joose." "Nitrous." "Cocaine."
These are all names for such
alcoholic energy drinks, or names of energy drinks which are designed to be
consumed with alcohol, and marketed with alcohol.
Can you spot the trend?
