The Hollister Police Department recently released a press
stating that there is a new trend that indicates that minors are
purchasing alcohol beverages, commonly mistaken for energy
drinks.
HOLLISTER
The Hollister Police Department recently released a press stating that there is a new trend that indicates that minors are purchasing alcohol beverages, commonly mistaken for energy drinks.
“Alcopops” – a combination of “alcohol” and “pops” – come in various forms like hard lemonade and are put into containers, mainly cans, to look just like non-alcoholic energy drinks. According to information put out by the Department of Alcohol Beverage Control, some of the “alcopops” contain as much alcohol as regular beer.
These drinks are sometimes sold by what the release calls “inattentive or unsuspecting clerks” to underage customers by mistake.
State law requires that “alcopops” be displayed separately from the non-alcohol versions and selling or providing any type of alcohol beverage to a minor is misdemeanor.
Some examples of brands of “alcopops” include Sparks and Sparks Plus, 6 percent and 7 percent alcohol by volume, Rize Up!, 7 percent alcohol by volume, Jackhammer, 5.9 percent alcohol by volume and Tilt, 8 percent alcohol by volume.
The release asks merchants, parents and others to be aware of the nature of all beverages that are sold or provided to minors. Statistics have shown that young people under the age of 21 have a higher rate of drunken driving fatalities than the regular adult population.
For more information on “alcopops,” contact the Hollister Police Department at 636-4330.
