Blackout in a can--energy alcohol drinks

[Ladybug]

I'm sure I'm dating myself here, but I had no idea. This stuff just didn't exist when I was in college. This article discusses the dangers of energy alcoholic drinks. It's definitely a good read for parents and something to discuss with your kids.

http://www.parade.com/health/2011/06...-epidemic.html

Two interesting blurbs:

"The caffeine blocks the part of alcohol that makes you sleepy and might otherwise cause you to pass out. This enables you to drink far more than you might have. By the time many of these kids get to the hospital, they have to be put temporarily on respirators because of depressed breathing."

Binge in a can: One 23.5 ounce can of Blast malt beverage may contain the same amount of alcohol as 4.7 12-ounce beers. These types of beverages cost around $3 per can.

[SuzySunshine]

I thought they had gotten rid of these? UGH!

[poky]

From what I gather, some states have banned the sale of drinks that mix caffeine and alcohol, but that doesn't keep kids from mixing them themselves, of course.

[Ladybug]

I thought they had gotten rid of these? UGH!

I think the caffeine has been officially pulled, but kids are still mixing red bull, etc. with their alcohol. Something to aggressively discuss with your kids. Scary. The malt cans are still large with a 12% alcohol content...? I can't find any more recent data than that. Not much posted since last spring.

[Deebs]

It scares the crap out of me, knowing the different non-drug, drug use DH sees. Bath salts are finally being made illegal in most states, but we still have seen them being sold in gas stations in OH and Indiana, where they're illegal. DH's favorite lecture to give to residents is about legal intoxicants, and they are really easy to obtain things. Basically my plan is to put my kids in a bubble after 2nd or 3rd grade.

[Ladybug]

Bath salts....wha???

You're going to get a lot of knocks on your bubble door.

[diggitydot]

They're sold as "bath salts", but they are a drug.

[poky]

Bath salts? Like Epsom Salts, and also scented ones? Like I just bought at Whole Foods in University Heights the other day? Illegal here? Really?

ETA: oooh, a euphamism. That makes a little more sense. Thanks for the clarification for us out-of-it peeps, DD.

[HouseofWool]

Bath salts? Like Epsom Salts, and also scented ones? Like I just bought at Whole Foods in University Heights the other day? Illegal here? Really?

ETA: oooh, a euphamism. That makes a little more sense. Thanks for the clarification for us out-of-it peeps, DD.

Sorry, I am apparently to stupid to understand. Or naive. What the hell are they selling that looks like bath salts.

[scrub-jay]

Sorry, I am apparently to stupid to understand. Or naive. What the hell are they selling that looks like bath salts.

Designer stimulants. Here is a fact sheet from the DEA: http://www.justice.gov/dea/pubs/abus...Bath_Salts.pdf

[scarlett09]

DH has seen some crazy things in the peds ER, one of them being kids who have been drinking Four Loko.

[Deebs]

Poky - I'm just chuckling at the fact that you thought you bought something illegal at Whole Foods. You're not going to get high from your bath!

[poky]

Poky - I'm just chuckling at the fact that you thought you bought something illegal at Whole Foods. You're not going to get high from your bath!

I didn't think so, I was just trying to figure out how else they could be used, or what they would be an ingredient in! Was not at all sure why they'd be illegal. I did enjoy my rosemary mint bath the other night!