Group Blasts New Alcoholic Beverage

A Triangle coalition gathered Wednesday to express their concerns over the dangers of a new fruity malt liquor beverage called ‘Blast’ by Colt 45 that is now hitting stores shelves.

Representatives of the Durham’s Partners Against Crime groups gathered for a brainstorming session led by Wanda Boone of Durham Together for Resilient Youth.

“We’re against the dangerous effects of the product, which have to do with crime, injury, death by motor vehicle,” she said.

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Federal regulators banned Four Loko nationwide last year because it contained caffeine, fueling health concerns. Colt 45 Blast does not contain caffeine, but Boone says Blast sales need to be monitored.

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Just last week, Minister Paul Scott with the Messianic Afrikan Nation followed Pabst Brewing Company’s brightly painted bus as rolled it into Durham promoting the new beverage.

What makes the fruity flavored 23-ounce canned drink so unsettling to him is its 12 percent alcohol content, which is equivalent to downing five beers, and it is completely legal.

While the FDA and the State of North Carolina have cracked down on beverages that mix caffeine and alcohol, high alcohol only drinks like Blast are still on the market. Opponents claim they promote binge drinking, and Durham activists went a step further last Thursday–charging that Blast is targeted at African-Americans.

“They push this poison, this genocide in the black community, and then they act, then they don’t want to talk to us. They’re a bunch of cowards,” said Minister Scott. “They ain’t putting this in the white community. They’re putting it in the black community. Every store in the hood, that’s where they’re putting this poison.”

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