# Is banning Hi-Alcohol Drinks Constitutional? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 6, 2010, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741 "2010-11-06T23:40:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/21 "2010-11-07T16:30:22Z")
> [@Khadaji](#): > > You can’t buy Everclear in every state. PA no longer sells it. It’s illegal in California as well and has been for at least 30 years. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/22 "2010-11-07T16:45:43Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Scare tactics just lessen credibility and bans never work on anything. Name one thing that’s banned that someone can’t actually get their hands on. Lecturing doesn’t work either, though. Has _anything_ ever worked at getting kids not to binge drink or do drugs? I don’t think so. I can’t say I really care if these kids get alcohol poisoning anyway. They did it to themselves, and it’s a natural consequence. If anything, maybe actually seeing the effects of alcohol poisoning in others will wake some kids up. ---
**Author:** ![appleciders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85f322/32.png) [@appleciders](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleciders)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/23 "2010-11-07T16:51:17Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > It’s illegal in California as well and has been for at least 30 years. Full list of where you can buy Everclear [here](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Everclear_(alcohol)#190-proof). ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/24 "2010-11-07T17:18:37Z")
The county line is less than 100 yards from my front door. On my side of that line, alcohol of all types is legal. On the far side of that line, alcohol of all types is illegal. Dry county. So yeah, the Constitution does not prohibit a state or political division thereof from banning alcohol as they see fit. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/25 "2010-11-07T17:21:25Z")
We could get it when I was in college in the early 80s. I have no idea when PA stopped selling. A few years ago I tried to get some to make cherry bombs, but couldn’t and settled for some strong vodka. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/26 "2010-11-07T17:25:14Z")
> [@Oakminster](#): > > The county line is less than 100 yards from my front door. On my side of that line, alcohol of all types is legal. On the far side of that line, alcohol of all types is illegal. Dry county. So yeah, the Constitution does not prohibit a state or political division thereof from banning alcohol as they see fit. Possession or sale is illegal? I’ve heard of dry counties where there are no bars and you can’t buy booze retail, but I’ve never heard of a county where private possession is illegal. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/27 "2010-11-07T17:53:05Z")
The whole controversy over these drinks reeks of moral panic if you ask me. They’re not THAT cheap, $2.50 for 3 or 4 standard drinks is basically the same price or more per unit alcohol as cheap vodka. I guarantee vodka (or Keystone Light for that matter) is sending more kids to the ER than 4 Loko. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/28 "2010-11-07T18:07:26Z")
Around here (Milwaukee) they’re selling beer like [Earthquake](http://www.ratebeer.com/beerimages/106430.jpg) for 88 cents for a twenty four ounce can. It’s 12% alcohol. Considering light beers have around 4% alcohol, that’s 3 times the ethanol content. Seeing it’s being sold in 24 ounce cans, that’s the alcohol equivalent of a 6 pack of light beer for only 88 cents. So for under $3 a 175 pound guy could fuck himself up right into the emergency room. Or maybe he could take responsibility for his own actions and not be so stupid. Most people in college are at least 17 years old. That’s old enough to think for ones self. ---
**Author:** ![Critical1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@Critical1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Critical1)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/29 "2010-11-07T18:19:34Z")
> [@pkbites](#): > > Or maybe he could take responsibility for his own actions and not be so stupid. Most people in college are at least 17 years old. That’s old enough to think for ones self. I am not picking on you specifically, there are several people making similar claims in this thread. how about instead of the usual American dumbassery we do something crazy and, I dont know maybe Educate kids about alcohol? we have tons of evidence that waiting til 21 does nothing to make people smarter about drinking, and tons of evidence that kids drinking reasonable amounts at young ages suffer no harm from it. talk to a kid from just about anywhere in Europe, I was chatting with one recently who was telling me how him and his friends would stop at a local pub on the way home from high school and they would work on their homework while having a couple of beers and food. he hates partying with American teens, even 20 year olds dont know their limitations with alcohol. the world would not come crashing to a halt if teens could have a beer or 2 with the parents at dinner once in a while, or 3 watching football with dad on sunday. ---
**Author:** ![Oakminster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/77aa72/32.png) [@Oakminster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oakminster)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/30 "2010-11-07T18:32:37Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Possession or sale is illegal? I’ve heard of dry counties where there are no bars and you can’t buy booze retail, but I’ve never heard of a county where private possession is illegal. I don’t know. My best guess is that it’s probably just sales are illegal. The store at the end of my road pretty much survives on beer sales, and on any weekend you can see lots of tags from the dry county in the parking lot of this store… ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/31 "2010-11-07T18:49:26Z")
> [@muldoonthief](#): > > Possession or sale is illegal? I’ve heard of dry counties where there are no bars and you can’t buy booze retail, but I’ve never heard of a county where private possession is illegal. In Alaska it’s pretty common for dry towns (often with high Native populations) to ban possession as well as sale. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Scud](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Tom\_Scud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Scud)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/32 "2010-11-07T19:01:48Z")
I remember when I was a freshman in college (c. 1990) some kid dying from alcohol poisoning from drinking 20 shots of tequila or something like that. I have serious doubts these drinks are remotely as dangerous as hard alcohol. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/33 "2010-11-07T19:29:12Z")
Maybe high school should have classes on the effects of alcohol and excessive drinking and I don’t mean the sometimes idiotic movies shown in driver’s education classes. For that matter, classes on the effects of drugs would be beneficial, as would, gasp out loud, sex education. I understand that hypocritical adults would block all attempts, leaving children to learn on their own with sometimes horrendous consequences. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/34 "2010-11-07T20:07:35Z")
Forget comparing these drinks to oddball combos (Gin & Mountain Dew? Really?) and look at a drink that’s been a bar staple since long before I turned 21 over 30 years ago: Rum & Coke. Rum & Coke is sweet, caffeinated, packs a punch (even if it’s made with 80-proof rather than 151), and tastes good to kids. If it’s made with well rum, it’s cheap, and it’s easy to make at home. I really don’t see the difference. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/35 "2010-11-07T20:35:34Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:34, topic:559741”] Forget comparing these drinks to oddball combos (Gin & Mountain Dew? Really?) and look at a drink that’s been a bar staple since long before I turned 21 over 30 years ago: Rum & Coke. Rum & Coke is sweet, caffeinated, packs a punch (even if it’s made with 80-proof rather than 151), and tastes good to kids. If it’s made with well rum, it’s cheap, and it’s easy to make at home. I really don’t see the difference. [/QUOTE] A man after my own heart. I love rum ‘n’ cokes! But like I said above, the difference is quantity. There’s a lot more caffeine in energy drinks than in Coke. One can is the equivalent of two rums and 8-10 Cokes, without all that pesky hydrating water to fill you up. And tell me what kid (or adult, for that matter) is going to drink a single can of the stuff all night. So you end up with 10+ rums and 40+ Cokes minus most of the water…and 10 rums is getting into stupid territory for a 150 pound college freshman, especially when the 40+ Cokes have your mind tricked into thinking you’re not even buzzed yet. And if you can get 8-10 Cokes and the rum to go into them for under $3, I wanna shop at your store. I can’t get Coke alone that cheap around here unless I find a really good Buy 4 sale. Again, I _don’t_ think banning them is the answer, but I do think the companies putting these things out are fairly high on the lacking a social conscience spectrum. ---
**Author:** ![pkbites](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pkbites/32/204_2.png) [@pkbites](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pkbites)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2010, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/36 "2010-11-07T20:40:23Z")
I mentioned rum: > [@pkbites](#): > > I saw a liter bottle of rum at the discount liquor store in Milwaukee for $5.99. I assumed everyone would get from the topic of the OP that I meant it could be mixed with Coke. AS far as Mt. Dew and gin, odd as it is it’s no more odd than putting freaking Jagermeister in Red Bull. WhoTF thought that up? Blech! ---
**Author:** ![installLSC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/54ee81/32.png) [@installLSC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/installLSC)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/37 "2010-11-08T01:21:06Z")
To bring back the original topic (before it got derailed by an alcohol ethics debate), can a locality or state ban specific brands? (Let’s exempt cases where alcoholic beverages are sold by government monopoly stores, because in those cases you can ban simply by refusing to order a given brand.) Or can it only ban a specific group such as caffinated beverages or a given alcohol percentage? ---
**Author:** ![anson2995](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@anson2995](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anson2995)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/38 "2010-11-08T01:36:59Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > By the time you reach college age, you should be capable of making personal judgements-so is it wise to ban such products? But the majority of college students are below the legal drinking age. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/39 "2010-11-08T02:19:41Z")
> [@WhyNot](#): > > Again, I _don’t_ think banning them is the answer, but I do think the companies putting these things out are fairly high on the lacking a social conscience spectrum. Then it looks like we’re in agreement. I agree that there is a quantitative difference between rum & coke and these drinks, but I don’t think there’s anything revolutionary about them. I don’t think there’s a bright line where we can say “this side of the line is bad; this side is good.” And just to check the math, a rum & coke (assuming a 1-1/2 oz shot) would contain 0.6 oz of alcohol (assuming 80 proof rum: it’s ~1.13 oz for 151 rum). If Four Loko is 12% alcohol by volume, and it’s served in 23.5 ounce cans, as asserted by **MsRobyn** earlier in the thread, that’s 2.82 oz of alcohol. So you were actually pretty conservative there. One of these drinks has the alcohol of to 2.5 to 4.7 rum & cokes. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2010, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741/40 "2010-11-08T02:26:12Z")
[quote=“Gary “Wombat” Robson, post:39, topic:559741”] And just to check the math, a rum & coke (assuming a 1-1/2 oz shot) would contain 0.6 oz of alcohol (assuming 80 proof rum: it’s ~1.13 oz for 151 rum). If Four Loko is 12% alcohol by volume, and it’s served in 23.5 ounce cans, as asserted by **MsRobyn** earlier in the thread, that’s 2.82 oz of alcohol. So you were actually pretty conservative there. One of these drinks has the alcohol of to 2.5 to 4.7 rum & cokes. [/QUOTE] Ah, yes. I didn’t do the math, I just took their “2 servings” per can to mean to servings of _alcohol_, which is equivalent (roughly) to two shots of rum, or two small glasses of wine or two beers. Thanks for helping the math impaired. It’s really the \*caffeine \*in conjunction with the alcohol that worries me. It’s the alcohol equivalent of a speedball…mixing uppers and downers predisposes one to worse damage than either one alone. And since they won’t say how much caffeine is in there, it’s like doing a speedball that someone else has mixed without telling you how much of what they put in there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-banning-hi-alcohol-drinks-constitutional/559741.md?page=3)