DEAR STRAIGHT TALK: I’m in college and “Simon,” who is over 21, is throwing a New Year’s party. He bought two cases of Four Loko after it was banned and plans to make more using an Internet recipe. I think Four Lokos are stupid. A friend of mine got really sick from them and people have died. However, Simon thinks the ban is what’s stupid. I know if I don’t help with his party, there will be 18 other girls all over him. I really like him. Should I just go along with things knowing it is everyone’s choice what they drink (Four Loko won’t be the only thing there), not to mention that other parties will have Four Loko, too. He says I’m being totally uptight. Am I? — S. C., Los Angeles
Editor’s Note: Four Loko has other nicknames as well: “Legalized cocaine in a can” is one. “Nuclear Gatorade” is another. I’m glad these alcohol-energy drinks were banned. The original alcopops (malted brews that are sweetened and flavored) are bad enough in their appeal to the 18- to 24-year-old crowd, but add high doses of caffeine, taurine, guarana and wormwood and you’ve got alcopops on steroids. I don’t think most people consider how dark it is that companies put thought into manufacturing something to sell to our youth that would be considered a poison for animals. We can thank the people at MADD for instigating the ban.
To those ringing in the New Year, be smart. If you feel the need to get “completely wrecked,” I recommend looking into the reasons for wanting to escape to that degree. The consequences of one party can last a lifetime. Don’t party and have unprotected sex. Don’t party and drive. Help each other out. I’m wishing you a safe and happy New Year. —Lauren
Comments
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Stay away from this at all costs! Unfortuneatly, banning these drinks didn’t do much good because homemade versions have become very popular at parties and kids think it’s even more cool to be drinking something that’s been banned and recipies for it are all over the Internet. I’d had beer before without much problem and thought I could handle this and didn’t realize how much different it was. I totally blacked out after just 2 drinks of it and don’t even remember what happened, but I was told that I drank lots more. I somehow managed to drive home although I don’t know how and don’t even remember which scares me to death, since I could have killed myself or someone else. My mom had gone to bed, but my sister who I share a room with woke up when I staggered into our room. She says she’s never seen me so out of it and I couldn’t even talk coherently. She says she had to help into the bathroom and on and off the toilet and undress me and put me to bed. I don’t even remember any of this. The first thing I remember is waking up very sick and barely making it to the bathroom to throw up. I was very sick all the next day. My sister didn’t rat on me, but when my mom asked if I’d been drinking I couldn’t very well deny it, but she doesn’t know the extent of what happened. I’ve been grounded for a month and had my driving privileges taken away indefinitely for drinking and driving. I deserve the punishment and actually feel that I’m getting off easy because things could have been much worse!
Learned My Lesson
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My sister and I were at a party and it was her turn to be the designated driver and a “friend” pressured me into trying what turned out to be an extra strong homemade version of this type of drink and I went ahead since I wasn’t driving. Boy was that a mistake! I had no idea that it would affect me the way it did, but I got very drunk as well as very, very, hyper in a short period of time. I also lost all of my inhibitions and decided to strip off my clothes and do a dance for everyone!. My sister tried to stop me and I shoved her away so hard that she fell down when I was at the point of pulling off my thong underwear. Afterwards, I was more ashamed and embarrassed then I ever have been in my whole life. I mean, I’m normally about other girls seeing me nude except for my sisters and my very closest friends, but I stripped naked in front of several guys! What I did has been spread around the whole school, and I don’t think I’m ever going to live down the humiliation as I’m constantly teased about it and I can’t stand it when I see the guys who were there and they smirk at me. I want everyone to know that these drinks can have a terrible effect on you, so they should be totally avoided. It’s much worse than just having a regular drink or beer, which is a bad idea for teenagers anyway.
Cindy
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I quit going to parties where this stuff is served and never actually drank it myself and am very glad I didn’t. I saw many kids exhibit totally crazy behavior like Cindy describes and heard of many blacking out like “Learned My Lesson” describes. The thing that scares me the most is that my stepsister who I have to share a room and bed with every other weekend came on to me if you know what I mean when she came home from a party under the influence of this stuff. When I confronted her about it the next day when she was sober she swore that she had no memory of this and that it was the drink that caused it and that she’s not gay and has no sexual interest in me. I’m hoping this is true, but it still scares me as I’m afraid that maybe she really feels this way about me and acted on it when drinking this took away her inhibitions, and I still have to go on sharing a room and bed with her and undressing in front of her. This is also another reason why I agree with those who said that bed sharing is a bad idea for teenagers when this was a topic in Straight Talk a few months ago. She hasn’t done anything to indicate sexual interest in me since this incident a few months ago and also doesn’t seem to have any interest when she sees me nude, but having to share intimate space with her still makes me nervous after this.
Judy
