Four Loko proves more dangerous than fun for students

The creators of Four Loko certainly got one thing right: They named their product aptly. You would have to be a lunatic to want to drink one.

Four Loko, for those who avoid the strung-out, drunk social scene, is one of a few brands of popular energy drinks smoothly blended with malt liquor and conveniently put in a can for mass consumption by, mostly, college-aged students. Drinking one can of Four Loko, which is 12 percent alcohol by volume, is equal to drinking six light beers while simultaneously drinking two 12-ounce cups of coffee. It also has the same amount of calories as a McDonald's cheeseburger and a Coke, according to an Oct. 27 article in the Huffington Post.

The drink was banned at Ramapo College in New Jersey shortly after 23 students went to the hospital for alcohol poisoning due to the consumption of Four Loko. Similarly, police were under the impression that dozens of students at a party at Central Washington University had been slipped some sort of date rape drug, based on the condition they were in, but actually the people at the party had just been drinking Four Loko, according to an Oct. 27 article in the Los Angeles Times.

Nine of those students were hospitalized. Another young man who was hospitalized was a 19-year-old in Philadelphia who came to the doctor with chest pains. He was otherwise healthy, and the doctor reported that his symptoms mimicked those of someone who had overdosed on cocaine or speed, according to an Oct. 25 article on ABCNews.com. The young man was suffering a heart attack, and he admitted that he had been drinking Four Loko.

Urban Dictionary's definition for Four Loko is "legalized cocaine in a can." The reason doctors believe Four Loko to be so dangerous is the high amount of caffeine in the drink, which prevents people from realizing exactly how inebriated they are while also helping them to stay up and drink more, long after they would have naturally passed out from drinking, had their drinks not contained caffeine.

It's no wonder the drink has earned the popular nickname "blackout in a can." Among the nine students who were hospitalized at Central Washington University, their Blood Alcohol Concentrations ranged from .12 to .35, according to an Oct. 25 article on msnbc.com. Multiple university health websites explain that a .35 BAC is equal to having surgical anesthesia, in which case a person with this BAC might stop breathing.

I'm not shocked that Four Loko exists. Lots of bad things exist, like heroin and the Jonas Brothers.

What I am shocked about is the drink's continuing popularity. When I was out at another Missouri university's Halloween parties, I was taken aback by the number of girls either drinking Four Loko or complaining that they were unable to find it at any of the local convenience stores.

One of them asked me if I had heard that someone died from drinking it. I couldn't find any news reports with evidence that someone had died as a direct result from drinking Four Loko. I was still surprised, though, that the girl who believed someone had died from the drink was also laughing and raising a Four Loko to her lips, as a rainbow of brightly colored empties littered the floor around us.

I understand the mentality of drinking and partying in college. I have yet to understand the mentality behind binge drinking, to say nothing of the mindset behind drinking caffeinated malt liquor, which a doctor from the ABCNews.com report said was similar to stepping on the gas and the brake pedal at the same time, only in your body instead of a car. This stuff is liquid crack, people.

So the next time you think about hoisting that shiny, colorful can the size of a pony keg up to your mouth to chug, think again. Don't be loko. And if that doesn't stop some of you, think about the fact that it contains the same amount of calories as a Coke and a McDonald's cheeseburger. Drinking too many might keep you from fitting into another slutty Halloween costume next year.

Anna Meier is a senior English major from Kansas City, Mo.