Charlotte teens working to stop underage drinking

CHARLOTTE, NC (WBTV) - A group of Charlotte teenagers is working to keep "alcopops" away from underage drinkers.

Alcopops are alcoholic drinks that many drug prevention groups say are marketed to teenagers. They're bright colored, fruit flavored and sugary, but contain up to twelve percent alcohol.

SPIDA is a local group that stands for Students Preventing and Informing Against Drugs and Alcohol. It's the youth branch of The Charlotte Mecklenburg Drug Free Coalition

Monday, groups of students from SPIDA fanned out across Charlotte and put stickers on alcopops and other alcoholic drinks at certain convenience stores, warning cashiers and potential buyers that the drinks should not be sold to teens.

The group is also part of a growing movement trying to get alcopops out of convenience stores and into ABC Stores, to be regulated just like liquor.

"I think that'll definitely decrease the number of teenagers who are buying  Four Locos and alcopops because a lot of teenagers are intimidated by the ABC stores, because we already know we're not supposed to be in there," said high school senior Malia Brown.

The Coalition for Drug Abuse Prevention is also working to prevent the sale of alcopops to minors. The group is petitioning the North Carolina ABC Commission to move alcopops like Blast and Four Loco to ABC stores.

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