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Maine restricts lemonade sale: Less than 0.5% alcohol in British drink (Nanny State Alert)
Washington Times ^ | 10/30/2009

Posted on 10/30/2009 9:54:17 AM PDT by markomalley

Call it a culture clash, trans-Atlantic style.

The British think Americans are puritanical and somewhat batty. Americans find the British morally lax and too willing to bend the rules.

It all started at a high school in Maine when a student consumed half a bottle of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade, then looked at the label and discovered it contained small amounts of alcohol, listed as less than 0.5 percent. By contrast, a typical American beer usually contains about 5 percent alcohol.

Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police. Police referred the matter to state officials to determine whether the zesty beverage could be sold to minors. Anti-alcohol groups got involved, sending out warnings about the potential perils of the highbrow brew.

On Thursday, the Maine attorney general's office said it has determined that, in Maine, at least, people have to be 21 to buy the product.

"Fentimans Lemonade cannot be sold to minors," said spokeswoman Kate Simmons.

The president of the U.S. division of Fentimans, Greg Warwick, said the company's full line of beverages is deemed OK by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Maine is the only place where anybody has raised a stink, Mr. Warwick said.

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Government; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: nannystate; prohibition

1 posted on 10/30/2009 9:54:18 AM PDT by markomalley
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To: markomalley

It’s a preservative - as evidenced by my advanced age to date.


2 posted on 10/30/2009 9:56:12 AM PDT by Paladin2
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To: markomalley

Quick question: Assuming a 100lb student were given this drink, how much would he have to drink to become legally drunk? {Remember to factor in the detoxification efforts of the kidneys and liver.}


3 posted on 10/30/2009 9:56:52 AM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: markomalley

Kid sounds like an a**.


4 posted on 10/30/2009 9:56:56 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: markomalley

Vanilla extract is 35% alcohol. Available on any grocery shelf, oh, no!

(Don’t tell anyone.)


5 posted on 10/30/2009 10:00:37 AM PDT by greatplains
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To: OneWingedShark
I once calculated that, at 0.5%, which I think is typical for NA beers, I needed to pound 48-60 12oz. bottles to catch a buzz. (It was Lent).

And I'm at 200lbs., so couldn't we just double the number for a 100lb. kid?

6 posted on 10/30/2009 10:01:00 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: markomalley
Sheesh. Don't many drinks ferment after a while and produce a bit of alcohol? Hey, maybe we should ban minors drinking apple cider and apple juice, orange juice, grape juice, etc., etc. in case they've fermented prior to consumption. I'll swear some of the apple cider and orange juice I've found languishing in our refrigerator at times has been a bit 'strong'.

While we're at it, maybe we should just make everyone only drink distilled water, since everything else apparently has either calories (bad! bad!) or causes cancer...

7 posted on 10/30/2009 10:01:33 AM PDT by Liberty1970 (Democrats are not in control. God is. And Thank God for that!)
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To: OneWingedShark

Quick question: Assuming a 100lb student were given this drink, how much would he have to drink to become legally drunk? {Remember to factor in the detoxification efforts of the kidneys and liver.}


pretty easy to figure out for your self. since a beer has about 5% and this drink has 0,5% . how many beers do you need to get drunk? multiply this with 10 and you know it.


8 posted on 10/30/2009 10:02:19 AM PDT by darkside321
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Or, excuse me—cut the number in half to 24-30.


9 posted on 10/30/2009 10:02:27 AM PDT by 1rudeboy
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To: markomalley

Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police. Police referred the matter to state officials to determine whether the zesty beverage could be sold to minors. Anti-alcohol groups got involved, sending out warnings about the potential perils of the highbrow brew.

_____________________________________________

Well. I guess the public indoctrination camps we silly Americans call ‘schools’ are starting to show results.


10 posted on 10/30/2009 10:03:54 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (I am Legend)
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To: markomalley

“The British think Americans are puritanical and somewhat batty.”

Sure. Batty. Just as batty as allowing tyrants putting video cameras in one’s home to watch what you do. Batty as in having “garbage police” weighing trash so they can fine you if you “throw away” the wrong thing. Sure, slaves. Call us batty. That’s the only thing you can do—right now.


11 posted on 10/30/2009 10:04:23 AM PDT by WKUHilltopper (Fix bayonets!)
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To: La Lydia

Sounds like the hall monitor type. This kid should worry less about trace amounts of alcohol in his lemonade and more about getting beat up for being an annoying goody two shoes.


12 posted on 10/30/2009 10:05:18 AM PDT by Callahan
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To: darkside321

>>Quick question: Assuming a 100lb student were given this drink, how much would he have to drink to become legally drunk?
>>{Remember to factor in the detoxification efforts of the kidneys and liver.}
>
>Pretty easy to figure out for your self.

LOL - I’m about 130lbs and 27; so it doesn’t matter in my particular case.

>Since a beer has about 5% and this drink has 0,5% . how many beers do you need to get drunk? multiply this with 10 and you know it.

But you aren’t factoring in the time it takes to drink ten times the volume; which gives the liver more time itself to work.

Let’s say that it takes 3 pints to get drunk and you normally finish them in about an hour; how long is it going to take you to drink _THIRTY_ pints? See the problem here; it’s a whole order of magnitude different.


13 posted on 10/30/2009 10:09:45 AM PDT by OneWingedShark (Q: Why am I here? A: To do Justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God.)
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To: Callahan

Exactly.

Besides all the brou-ha-ha about that silly drink, the kid should be severly disciplined and expelled from school.

Zero tolerance policy, dontcha know.


14 posted on 10/30/2009 10:09:49 AM PDT by Responsibility2nd (I am Legend)
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To: Callahan

Well put!


15 posted on 10/30/2009 10:12:23 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: greatplains

Joan Kennedy’s beverage of choice


16 posted on 10/30/2009 10:14:31 AM PDT by MissDairyGoodnessVT (Something stinks in Oslo)
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To: markomalley
Remember that zero is also "less than 0.5%."

My guess: It contains some trace amounts of alcohol due to natural fermentation processes.

Did they actually measure the alcohol content in a lab?

From the article:

Police Chief Butch Asselin (...): I've never had it; it's probably very good, but their Web site says it can be used for mixed drinks."

Wow, what an idiot. So can milk or water...

17 posted on 10/30/2009 10:14:33 AM PDT by Moltke (DOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the Big House - HOPE will get you 4 to 8 in the White House.)
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To: markomalley

Fentimans seems to be taking this silliness in good fun.

http://www.fentimans.com/images/fentimans_home.jpg


18 posted on 10/30/2009 10:16:16 AM PDT by Grammar Nazi (Conservative = pro-borders + pro-gun + pro-life)
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To: markomalley
It all started at a high school in Maine when a student consumed half a bottle of Fentimans Victorian Lemonade,

Where did the kid get this "demon lemonade"? Did he bring it from home? Get it with his government lunch? Buy it in a vending machine at school? Pick it up at some back alley convenience story on the way to school?

Mainly I was wondering if the school provided it or not. The article doesn't say either way.

I remember kids making sure to put their unpasturized apple cider in the back of the fridge so no one would drink it until it was "ripe".

19 posted on 10/30/2009 10:17:36 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Soon everyone will win a Nobel Peace Prize for not being George Bush...well, except for George Bush.)
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To: OneWingedShark

“Assuming a 100lb student were given this drink, how much would he have to drink to become legally drunk?”

If you said 2 pints of beer (I’m sure it’s probably more), then 56 bottles of lemonade. From the story:

“A person would need to drink about 28 bottles of the lemonade to consume the amount of alcohol found in a typical pint of beer, Miss McKirdy [the operations director at Fentimans] said.”


20 posted on 10/30/2009 10:18:47 AM PDT by Fenhalls555
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To: markomalley

Most ripe fruit also contains alcohol. DO NOT tell the muslims.


21 posted on 10/30/2009 10:26:07 AM PDT by SampleMan (No one should die on a gov. waiting list., or go broke because the gov. has dictated their salary.)
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To: markomalley

Don’t let them drink a real sasparilla or a real root beer either then because a brewed drink will always have some small amount of sugar alcohols in them


22 posted on 10/30/2009 10:26:33 AM PDT by the long march
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To: greatplains

original formula Listerine is 26.9 percent alcohol, making it approximately 54 proof


23 posted on 10/30/2009 10:27:10 AM PDT by the_devils_advocate_666
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To: SampleMan
Most ripe fruit also contains alcohol. DO NOT tell the muslims.

One trip to a casino in Ankara or Istanbul Turkey would assuage you of that concern.

24 posted on 10/30/2009 10:29:22 AM PDT by markomalley (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus)
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To: OneWingedShark
yep. the problem is there is no fix norm how much someone has to drink untill he/she gets drunk. there are so many different factors which can influence this. but if you don´t want to drink 100 bottles of this lemonade try this ;-) i guarantee you one bottle will get the job done!!! *lol* absinth
25 posted on 10/30/2009 10:33:51 AM PDT by darkside321
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To: the_devils_advocate_666
original formula Listerine is 26.9 percent alcohol, making it approximately 54 proof

There is at least one grocery store in Anchorage that locks Listerine behind the counter. Apparently it is a popular drink among the local street alcoholics.

26 posted on 10/30/2009 10:35:25 AM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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To: markomalley

Whats next for the nannys. Outlawing all baked goods with vanilla extract to kids.


27 posted on 10/30/2009 10:40:14 AM PDT by dancusa (Czars Czuck)
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To: markomalley

We Mainers are proud to have a government that’s right on top of things. Well, some things.


28 posted on 10/30/2009 10:43:56 AM PDT by Grut
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To: GATOR NAVY

In Pennsylvania, you have to show ID to buy beer and liquor, but cooking sherry can be bought off the supermarket shelf.


29 posted on 10/30/2009 10:44:03 AM PDT by PapaBear3625 (Public healthcare looks like it will work as well as public housing did.)
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To: La Lydia; Callahan

The kid probably remembers the guy who bought his kid a Mike’s Hard Lemonade (5%) at a baseball game, not realizing it contained alcohol. The cops arrested the dad.

If they found the kid with this this 0.5% stuff, they probably would have made a major case of it.


30 posted on 10/30/2009 10:46:49 AM PDT by Right Wing Assault (The Obama magic is fading.)
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To: dancusa

Whats next for the nannys. Outlawing all baked goods with vanilla extract to kids.


how about apples? (because after eating it you will no longer have 0,0% blood alcohol.)


31 posted on 10/30/2009 10:49:39 AM PDT by darkside321
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To: markomalley
Bad journalism. This story doesn't say whether the kid brought it to school, or bought it from a vending machine at school.

He would have had to drink 28 bottles of the lemonade to consume the amount of alcohol in a beer.

32 posted on 10/30/2009 10:49:48 AM PDT by La Lydia
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To: OneWingedShark

If a 100lb student left the train station eastbound at 10:18 going 27 mph.........


33 posted on 10/30/2009 10:50:41 AM PDT by Pajama Blogger (Pajama Power)
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To: markomalley
(student accidentally drinks lemonade with 0.5% alcohol) Not wanting to get in trouble, he showed it to school administrators, who called police.

The youth and educators exhibit operant conditioning sufficient to facilitate complete state control of all functions within one generation.

Monarchs, oligarchs, and dictators have killed millions to get the kind of supplicating compliance Americans willingly give using only the most basic herd dynamics.

34 posted on 10/30/2009 11:25:56 AM PDT by spodefly (This is my tag line. There are many like it, but this one is mine.)
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To: Pajama Blogger

“If a 100lb student left the train station eastbound at 10:18 going 27 mph.........”

Ahnser’s simple. Yah cahn’t get theya from hea.


35 posted on 10/30/2009 12:03:48 PM PDT by Flash Bazbeaux
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To: La Lydia

Yeah, he gave it to school officials because he didn’t want to get into trouble. Well, he was lucky he didn’t get into trouble because we all know that mealy-mouthed, morally bankrupt public school officials are only too willing to kick their students to the curb under their pathetic zero-tolerance rules.


36 posted on 10/30/2009 1:16:26 PM PDT by goldi (')
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To: darkside321

Ah, yes, as I’ve heard: “Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...”


37 posted on 10/30/2009 1:24:06 PM PDT by Mugwump
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To: Mugwump

yeah. i´m just glad they finally abolished the ban of absinth.


38 posted on 10/30/2009 1:30:46 PM PDT by darkside321
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To: PapaBear3625

Have you ever drunk cooking wine?
It’s not something that a normal person would drink.


39 posted on 10/30/2009 3:55:24 PM PDT by John Will
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To: PapaBear3625

I just looked at the cooking wine we bought in the grocery store and it says 12% alcohol. It also says 1.5% salt so I don’t think it’s too tasty to drink. Couldn’t be worse than Listerine though.


40 posted on 10/30/2009 7:03:17 PM PDT by GATOR NAVY
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