Legislation to allow 151-proof clear grain alcohol to be sold in Virginia liquor stores has moved through the General Assembly with the speed of, well, white lightning, prompting public health officials at colleges and universities to ask Gov. Terry McAuliffe to veto the bill.
The Virginia College Alcoholic Leadership Council warned McAuliffe this week that House Bill 143, which is on its way to the governor after gliding through the legislature with little opposition in either chamber, poses a health threat to students because it would allow the sale of low-priced “extreme strength” alcohol that is tasteless, odorless and colorless.
“These beverages are very low cost, and their unflavored nature makes the level of alcohol difficult to detect,” said Steven Clarke, the council’s executive director and director of the Campus Alcohol Abuse Prevention Center at Virginia Tech, in a letter to the governor.
Clarke warned that the consequences could include an increase in alcohol-related sexual assaults, including use as a weapon by sexual predators. “Further, this would likely result in increases in negative consequences for our campuses, such as personal injury, property damage, and academic non-performance,” he told the governor.
Legislative leaders said the swift passage of the bill, sponsored by Del. Barry D. Knight, R-Virginia Beach, was not influenced by $5,500 in campaign contributions that Luxco made to legislative political action committees in December.
The St. Louis-based company produces Everclear, a neutral grain alcohol product that can be sold at 151 and 190 proof in Virginia only to holders of special permits for industrial, commercial culinary and medical uses, not in state Alcoholic Beverage Control stores.
Do we send anyone to Richmond who has a grain of sense (pun intended)? The theme last year seemed to be about sexual assaults and drunkeness on college campuses. Colleges sounded the alarm nation-wide about drunkeness, promiscuity, campus rape and sexual assaults. Was the Virginia General Assembly not listening?
Grain alcohol is very potent and it certainly isn’t new. It has one purpose–a cheap and quick drunk. I have never known an adult to drink it and I have known some pretty heavy drinkers in my day. I guess they didn’t like feeling like dog-crap for 3 days afterwards. There are certainly kinder ways to get drunk.
My introduction to gain alcohol was at UVA frat parties when I was growing up in Charlottesville. Boys would go into DC, head on over to the Dixie Liquor Store and buy up a punch of it and then mix horrible concoctions that had one purpose and one purpose only–to get everyone drunk.
So why did the General Assembly approve the sale of this product in its ABC stores? Currently a special permit is required to order it. Here is what the Va ABC Store has to say about it:
Product Description
IN VIRGINIA, A GRAIN ALCOHOL PERMIT IS REQUIRED TO OBTAIN THIS PRODUCT. Everclear is a brand of grain alcohol with an extremely high alcoholic concentration. It is available in 190 proof (95 percent alcohol) and 151 proof (75.5 percent alcohol) varieties. It is illegal to sell in many states in the United States. Everclear can be lethal, and should not be consumed in shooters, used as a substitute for water, or ingested straight. It should be mixed with other ingredients when used in preparation of an alcoholic beverage. Because of it’s high alcohol content, Everclear is very flammable and should be handled with care.
More roofies, more drunks, more sexual assaults, more lethal traffic accidents. More kids drowning in their own vomit after being drunk out of their minds.
Thanks a lot, General Assembly–you morons! Clearly this is not a product Virginia wants or needs. There is obvious danger in lessening the restrictions on this product. Let the bill goes through like white lightening. This is absurd and irresponsible. I urge the governor to veto this irresponsible legislation.
Now…about those campaign contributions….
The danger with this tasteless alcohol is its tastelessness.
It can be mixed in with any fruit drink w/o being recognized.
This is NOT the kind of alcohol, that should be sold in State
ABC stores.
It is already legal in many other states without an increase in these crimes listed…college students are already drinking this in mass quantities across the state. West Virginia, NC and I think Maryland sell this in their stores already. If some twisted college student wants to spike someone’s drink, they will do it with or without grain alcohol. Keeping this from being sold in VA isn’t going to keep college kids from doing bad things
Let me just ask…why increase a type of alcohol that is tasteless? People drink grain to get drunk on the cheap.
College students have enough problems with alcohol without legislators being enablers.
As for there not being an increase in these crimes…show me the statistics. One of the major problems on campuses across the nation is that sexual assault was not being reported. I don’t think this is something that is going to show up as a crime statistic. Its just something everyone knows.
Yes surrounding states do sell it. Go there if you want some. Let’s not bring another form of poison to our Virginia campuses.
Our legislators were careless, irresponsible, and didn’t put proper thought into yet another bill.
My son, who is a bartender by trade, just told me that he doesn’t think you can buy Everclear in DC now.
I have written to the governor, urging him to veto the bill.
Require a childproof/drunk proof cap for the container.
I can’t even operate those on my advil.
sober.
During a time when legalizing recreational Marijuana is gaining popularity, and every day I see a new “Hard” versions of soft-drinks, beit Ciders, Sodas, “cocktails in a can”, etc a selling high-octane grain alcohol doesn’t seem to radical to me. All to market outside of the traditional beer/wine/mixed drink crowd.
Took a couple of shots of Bacardi 151 at a party 30 years ago. Didn’t take to it.
I can relate to that–the Bacardi 151. It’s sure not something I would race out to buy. Howevaaaaaa….and this backs up my point…I do remember carrying my friend’s 5th of 151 proof Bacardi across campus in my riding boot to get it off campus to a party. Now what kind of moron takes that kind of risk? I would have been pitched out on my ear.
Kids do stupid things. I don’t think grain alcohol is radical. I sure drank a few green g-d damnits laced with grain in my day. I also saw people puking their guts out and getting rough with their dates. I seem to recall been shoved into the side of a building after a GG drinking excursion.
Grain alcohol has one purpose if it comes out of the liquor store–a cheap, quick drunk. We need less of that with students, not more.
My son had a close friend die from alcohol poison her first few weeks at college. It was heart-breaking for all concerned. She was just one of many who meet this same fate.
I also have to ask myself…would Hannah Green be alive today if she wasn’t drunk and lost? Would half the sexual assaults happen on campuses today if there weren’t volumes of liquor available?
It would have been so easy to think of these things and just vote no. I can’t think of one adult I know who has ever sat around and binged on grain, as an adult. I have known a lot of drunks in my day. It’s a killer for young adults…read kids.
And while we know some of the groups opposed to the bill, knowing who is for it, and why is also helpful to the public debate. Is it the “shiners” or the alcohol distributors? Has this become a scourge in other states where it’s legal? I find if you peel the onion, the motivations are usually financial, and opposing parties predictions of the fall of society (corrupted youth, blood in the streets, gateway to even worse substances, spike in addiction, or other social ills) don’t materialize.
Not saying I think this a good idea (I think the state should get out of the distribution of alcohol…just too soviet for my tastes), but with heroin use exploding, I think we have bigger fish to fry.
Yes, it is alcohol distributors. I just don’t think we need to help kids have a local cheap drunk. I watched probably 5 shows last year on sexual assault and on the problem with alcohol on campuses. I would probably say for that demographic, alcohol abuse is a huge problem. Steve, you went to a college where there were some pretty stern controls over behavior. That’s not to say there wasn’t violation, it just wasn’t a free for all.
I grew up in a small city were there were very few controls on the student population. I saw the abuse and later probably participated in some of the abuse. Weekends were every bit as bad as a Jimmy Buffet concert. I later attended an all girls school (that’s another story) where the alcohol abuse went haywire, just not on campus.
I think perhaps you are under-rating the damaging effects of alcohol. Making it more available to a population who hasn’t really learned to drink correctly can be every bit as damaging as heroin in terms of human life.
Again, nothing was pulled back. The General Assembly made grain alcohol available. I still think it was incredibly stupid.
Let’s also follow the logic here…make an alcoholic substance more available to people who party hardy way too much anyway. We all know alcohol use leads to bad decision making. Meanwhile the General Assembly votes to defund Planned Parenthood. So access to birth control is diminished…I see more unwanted pregnancy, STDs, amongst the 18-30 year olds.
Now do I have statistics? No. Its just one more thing that keeps people from exercising good judgement. Poison for the young and the poor.
BTW, as a native Virginian, I love the state liquor stores. Its tradition. Nothing soviet about it that I can see. Post prohibition way to keep out crime.
@MoonHowler
With all that youthful stupidity, one has to wonder if they can be trusted to vote…
I get why a cheap drunk appeals to certain groups. Malt liquor is marketed to poor people. Cheap watery beer to another.
I once heard an anecdotal bit of marketing info, that the store historically selling the most “Milwaukee’s Best” beer was a convenience store just off the Radford campus. Made sense. It’s cheap beer.
But students die of alcohol poisoning all the time, many of them underage, and do so with regular old vodka and burbon, rum, etc. The drunkest I have ever seen a young person, was a young lady who pounded a pint of pepermint schnapps, which is pretty weak on the proof-scale When she puked in my car, it smelled somewhat minty, and clearly she hadn’t eaten anything prior to imbibing. Kalua and milk (another favorite of the 1980’s greater Boston girl) was a bit more troublesome.
Awwwwww….I won’t tell my barf story in my new Camaro. My husband keeps reminding me how many years ago it was. I still haven’t and won’t forgive.
I probably don’t really trust students to vote. Most have no business drinking. No big fan of the 26th amendment here. The courts got hold of it and abused the intent.
Last I checked, one had to be an adult, at least 21, to drink.
Since there are other alcohols with this proof, then the ban is stupid.
For the 180 or even the 200 proof, what business is it of ours what an adult buys?
As for the college kids….. if they can get alcohol illegally, then this won’t matter. They’ll just drink more of lower proof.
If proof is a concern, why do we sell alcohol at all? Or allow anything over x proof?
Grain alcohol is unique in that it is odorless and tasteless. You can’t say that about Bacardi 151. You at least know you are drinking with things with odor and flavor.
My issue is why do we want more college students to have access to something that can be easier abused.
BTW, colleges and universities are having a fit over this new legislation. Remember, it isn’t taking away, its adding to products.
Just letting you know that the formatting for this page is different than the rest of the pages.
Yea. I am not sure what happened. As long as you can read it…I am leaving it alone.
I want to see a show of hands that think drinking alcohol is a good thing. ………….. Ok! If there are no responsible hands going up, isn’t prudent to restrict alcohol , where we can?
One would think. I don’t think drinking alcohol in moderation is bad. For some people it could even be good. Of course, that isn’t what we are talking about. We are talking about alcohol abuse. No one sits back and sips on grain alcohol at the end of the day.
This is IMHO primarilly about the money. Essentially, Virginia has a state run monopoly on the sale of liquor. The state currently makes $324 million in revenue per year from operating the VABC stores – not enought to justify their monopoly or the long term pensions they incur — and yet it is missing out on thousands – perhaps tens of thousands of gallons of cheaper moonshine already produced and consumned in the state per year. They want that market and profit margin. The seocndary issue is safety. By allowing the sale of moonshine in the ABC stores or any legal retail outlet, the State can reduce the risk of harm from uncontrolled distillation. Better the devil you know than the one you don’t, and in this state, the long history of moonshining is well entrenched and sought after.
Technically, moonshine is untaxed liquor. It can be anything, including Corn liquor.
I dont think bringing booze in from Maryland is smuggling.
Let’s just bring in a little controlled Mary Jane then, so the kids don’t get in some bad stuff. Same with heroin.
@MoonHowler
Hmm, I guess you never bought liquer at Central Liquer on 14th in the Disrict while looking out for the VA revenue agents while headed for the 14th street bridge. Yes, it is smuggling even today. And yes, we have a number of controlled and licensed opiates in VA. Controlled pot is coming, but they will still go after the moonshiners of the booze and pot industries. The kids will continue to get high, so the only remaining question is how we can reduce the risk presented by what – not how much – they consume.
It depends on how much you buy and transport. I don’t remember the exact figures.
Perhaps you need to look at the viewpoints of the major colleges and universities on this issue.
Why make it easy.
Would that you all put as much effort in keeping kids from getting 151 proof ever clear as you do keeping them away from contraception and abortifacients.
@MoonHowler
Yes, I did go to a college where self-discipline was paramount to success, and standards of conduct clear and more importantly, rigorously enforced. I was also a US Marine Staff NCO at the time, and a non-drinker. Priorities dictated little leisure time, and my idea of “blowing off steam” was a 5 mile run, followed by a 1 mile swim.
Still, I get the fact that a large segment of college kids lack the maturity to make responsible choices across a whole spectrum of life. Underage drinking seems to be the problem we should be addressing, rather than what these knuckleheads are choosing to drink. Pound a 5th of Stoli’s or Segrams vodka will get you just as dead as a 5th of white lightnin’.
Yes, that’s true about vodka. I just don’t see any reason to add Everclear to the list of “adult beverages.” I wouldn’t be howling if the legislature didn’t take it away. I am howling because they added it to the problem. Drinking on campuses is a huge problem. Odorless and tasteless is even more dangerous. It isn’t what kids do to themselves, it’s what they do to others.
A fisherman’s punch with Everclear becomes unsuspectingly lethal…..
Why is it that liberals want the government to act like – even supercede – parents with respect to some things – such as 151 white lightning, but refuse to support parental rights when it comes to contraception and abortion? Makes not sense say I.
Blue, I don’t care who is drinking Everclear. It’s a dangerous substance we don’t need to add to our list of products.
Parental rights for contraception for college age kids? Surely even you aren’t that effen backwards. Do you really think Everclear is a liberal/conservative issue? Do you think using contraception in college is liberal or conservative?
I am not even sure abortion is a liberal/conservative issue. People of both genders who support abortion rights seriously don’t want the government making deeply personal decisions for them.
Confused again you are. Contraception is not about adult access but the voiding of religous freedom and parental responsbilitiy to the underage in favor of the State by requiring it to be provided by religous and public institutions. The origin of such a philosophy is racist in the extreme. Defending the authority of the schools to provide such without parental consent is indefensible it is. Same for abortion of any kind. A bold line exists between right and wrong here and the fear of limiting such access in any way in all cases to include our youth is on the wrong side of this issue.
Everclear is a legal substance, why do you want to interfere with my freedom of access to this as an adult — or is an 18 year old not mature enough to make that decision alone on booze?
Blue, contraception is a legal substance. Everclear 151 is not legal to buy in this state without a special permit.
18 year olds cannot legally buy booze. Now which of us is confused?
Religion should have nothing to do with contraception any more than drinking, other than to its own flock.
Your first paragraph makes no sense whatsoever. Do you really believe the crap that you write?
Contraception and abortion for 14 yr olds without parantal consent. Contraception must be provided even if it violates your religious freedom. So if that really is your plateform, who will you vote for Sanders or Clinton? I would luv to hear both of them say this out loud. Booze has an age limit or 21 not 18 even though they can vote and serve in combat in the military, but would not be able to legally buy 151- regardless of age – 21+. But again through the Party, you must know best, who you gonna vote for to support this kind of hyocritical crap.
Contraception at age 14 without parental consent? Why not? Would you rather have parenthood without parental consent? You seem to think that denial of contraception somehow prevents sex. Trust me, it doesn’t.
If contraception violates your religious views, don’t use it. That’s fairly simple.
I already said who I was voting for. You seriously don’t think I would vote for anyone left running as a Republican, do you?
You are the one who set the drinking age at 18, not I. Additionally, do you really think that age limit stops kids from drinking? It just slows them down.
Blue, I detect a nastiness in your tone at me that I don’t like. It really needs to stop.
@Steve Thomas
“my idea of “blowing off steam” was a 5 mile run, followed by a 1 mile swim.”
Duuude……
That’s just…..wrong.
LOL, Cargo, I agree!