According to its website, Four Loko is sold at more than 100 local stores, including one on the University of Dayton’s campus. A clerk at the Sunoco gas station on Brown Street, a popular stop for students, estimated sales of 400 cans of Four Loko and Joose drinks each week.
UD senior Eric Hegedus, 21, said he consumes a Four Loko about once a weekend. He said most college students consume alcoholic energy drinks responsibly.
“They know how much they are consuming,” he said. “It says it on the can.”
Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna has spoken out against the drink and joined CWU in announcing it will ban alcoholic energy drinks from campus. At least one other college, Ramapo College of New Jersey has done the same. No local schools have announced bans on the drinks, but are instead focusing on educating students about risks.
Leslie Haxby McNeill, assistant director in the Office of Student Wellness at Miami University, said her office is working with student leaders to make them aware of the issues surrounding the trend.
“Almost every year there is something new and different and you can’t outlaw everything,” she said.
“(Alcoholic energy drinks) are just part of binge drinking as a whole. College kids will find another way to get that buzz.”
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