'FOUR LOCO' AND 'JOOSE' ALCOHOL-CAFFEINE DRINKS BEING REMOVED FOR WV SHELVES - Action Is Voluntary

(11/22/2010)
A strong drink, a concoction of alcohol and caffeine, is voluntarily being pulled off some West Virginia store shelves.

The Federal Drug Administration is calling the drink, sometimes called 'blackout in a can,' dangerously unsafe.

For $2-3, the drink is the equivalent of four beers and about four cups of coffee blended together in one, big 32 ounce can.

"This product is appealing to the young drinker or someone who is inexperienced to know the conditioning effect," said ABCA spokesperson Gig Robinson.

"You have a depressant and you have a stimulant and you have a product that is flavored so it's appealing to the palette," he said.

Name brands include 'Four Loco" and 'Joose."

"In a normal situation a person would feel conditioning as far as becoming sleepy, lethargic, inhibitions would be lowered but with the stimulant (caffeine) that's giving them a sense of sobriety," Robinson said.

Some West Virginia grocery stores and gas stations have already pulled the product from store shelves.