Let me begin this column with a small disclaimer, or rather, perhaps, a confession of sorts. I, like many other 21-year-old (and otherwise) college students, choose willingly to partake in activities that involve the consumption of alcohol. And, like many other college students, I both purchased, and enjoyed, the recently banned alcoholic beverage Four Loko.

As a college student, it’s impossible to not relish the ability to enjoy a beverage that’s only $2.25 a can. With this said, you’ll probably view this column as a slanted defense of a poisonous drink, and there’s a strong possibility that you’ll stop reading it. But I implore you to hear me out; there’s logic amidst the loco.

We’re all probably aware by now that, within the past couple of weeks, the government (of at least New York State) has taken steps to ban the alcoholic drink Four Loko, a drink resembling a Red Bull like energy beverage infused with malt liquor.

According to the FDA, the combination of caffeine and alcohol has been deadly. In their report, the FDA states that the caffeine of the energy drink portion of Four Loko masks the effects that alcohol normally has on an individual, effects such as sleepiness or general tiredness that would otherwise make a person in an already intoxicated state stop drinking.

From strictly a health standpoint, I’m not going to argue with what the FDA says. In fact, I’m almost positive that Four Loko is a fairly terrible thing to put into your body.

My argument and general contestation of the ban, however, is born from a philosophical standpoint.

As Americans, we pride ourselves on the ability to make our own choices, including what to and what not to put in our bodies. Yes, we know smoking is terrible for us, but some of us still do it anyway. And while Four Loko is terrible for us, some of us will still enjoy that, too.

These are choices that Americans (that are of age, of course) should be allowed to make.

Additionally, items like cigarettes (don’t give me the second hand smoke argument, please) and Four Loko are items that affect people on an individual basis.

My consumption of a Four Loko isn’t going to affect the person next to me, for the most part. Putting an outright ban on a substance like Four Loko just can’t be paralleled to regulating an industry that actually needs regulation, like the meat packing industry, an industry whose general practices affect a wide range and multitude of individuals (those, like me, who enjoy meat).

Partly, my contestation of the ban is born from the reasons why the ban was put in place. In part, the call for the ban on these types of alcoholic energy drinks comes directly in the wake of an incident at a party at Washington University, in which nine students were hospitalized after reportedly drinking the beverage.

The report was one of many instances throughout the country in which the beverage was reportedly abused by college students who were, presumably, under the age of 21.

So…because kids can’t handle their liquor, we damage a company producing a good by placing a ban on that good? It just doesn’t make sense from that standpoint.

 If I’m of age (which I am) and want to enjoy a beverage responsibly, I shouldn’t be penalized because others abuse it. What’s more is that a company shouldn’t be penalized because under aged kids abuse their good—it should rest on the responsibility of the individual vendor to ensure that they’re not selling to kids under 21. And, after that, responsibility rests in the user of the good, who should be educated (from a young age) as to the harrows of alcohol and the negative effects it can have, and should be taught, from early on, how to drink responsibly, rather than binge.

Does Four Loko need to be regulated? Probably—it’s clear from the packaging on its can that its target market is young kids between 17 and 22. It’s also clear that their business plan of placing Four Loko in convenience stores provides easy access to that target market.

But if it needs to be regulated, then regulate it, don’t ban it. Put it in liquor stores rather than delis, and make it less accessible to those who aren’t of age.

Don’t take it away from those who can actually legally enjoy it.

 

To contact The Ionian’s Ryan Karpusiewicz, e-mail him at [email protected].