...or is banning what's bad for us always good for us?

Has anyone out there ever consumed a Four Loko? I thought not. However, if you like a jolt of caffeine (about a Grande's worth) with your booze (about four beers worth) you might want to stock up on Lokos real soon. Several states have banned the concoction and the FDA is considering pulling all such alcohol+caffeine products off store shelves. Chuck Shumer, ever-vigilant Senator from New York, is leading the fight to cleanse America of this evil brew. Apparently Chuck is unfamiliar with Irish Coffee. Nevertheless, Senator Shumer didn't get where he is by being slow to recognize a political winner. Protecting America's youth from the polar effects of Four Loko appears a noble fight. Besides 1) it's not made in New York and, 2) it's not made by a big company like Anheuser Busch or Miller with deep pockets.

So, like the debate on transfats and the argument over salt content, we are again faced with the conflict between the nanny state and government rightfully protecting its citizens from harmful products. We here at isitjustme, never reluctant to offer an unsolicited opinion, have weighed the facts and concluded that government should back off on Four Loko. Free societies should be free to act the fool even if there is risk. We allow smoking which kills thousands. We allow the production, distribution and sale of intoxicants which also kills indiscriminately. We allow millions of hand guns to be bought and sold. We prohibit marijuana which kills almost no one...except the hundreds of Mexicans who die in drug wars. To ban the sale of a substance which can easily be created by combining two legal products seems silly and unnecessary.

There is a lot of bad stuff out there. The parents and teachers of teenagers and college students spend a tremendous amount of time educating kids about what to avoid. Distinctions about specific products are meaningless. We don't tell seventeen year olds that beer is OK but scotch is evil. That filtered cigarette won't hurt as much as Luckies. Education is about choices and behavior. Government should not attempt to limit bad choices or reduce their numbers. If we learned nothing else from Prohibition we learned that in the face of public desire, limited access is no barrier. Government should return to its core competency namely, banning cell phone use while waiting in line at Starbucks. It's sooooo annoying!