DES MOINES, IA - It stems from the incident at Drake University last month; a 19 year old had to be taken to the hospital after a fraternity hazing incident with grain alcohol.
Upon arrival, the boy had a blood alcohol level of 0.50, and some say an alcohol that can do that, is simply too strong to sell.
"That's the stuff," said Mason City liquor store manager Bruce Long pointing to a clear bottle of alcohol on the bottom of a shelf. "It does not taste good. It's like rubbing alcohol basically."
It's about as hard as you can get when it comes to a drink; the colorless, odorless, and alcohol filled, Everclear.
"Everclear is a grain alcohol, we actually sell a lot of it when the weather gets cold, cause people from Minnesota come down, cause it's not legal to buy in Minnesota," said Long.
In fact, we found the stuff is illegal to sell in more than a dozen states, and about six months ago, the 190 proof version was made illegal in Iowa as well; now you can only get it in 151 proof, or 75 percent alcohol.
Now, the state alcohol beverages commission is considering pulling that version as well, but Long argues that the type of alcohol may not be the problem.
"Kids are going to binge drink on whatever."
Local law enforcement agree no matter what the cocktail is, the game of binge drinking is just dangerous.
"it would take probably more, obviously, to get that same effect,” said Cerro Gordo County Chief Deputy Dave Hepperly, “but, the bottom line is, that if you're going to binge drink, the results can be deadly."
"You have to, as with any alcohol product, you have to take it easy," said Long.
Leaders met in Des Moines on Thursday to discuss a possible ban; there’s no word yet on what was decided.
One thing the commission is looking at is if a lot of people even buy the stuff.
Bruce Long says Everclear is often used to make homemade schnapps and apple pie shots, but he cautions against drinking it straight, as it can actually burn your throat.
