On a cold night last winter, Dan* threw up, blacked out and almost froze to death. What happened? Dan doesn’t remember, thanks to 15 shots of Burnett’s Flavored Vodka.

Soon after doing the shots at a party, Dan wandered off barefoot. It was less than 30 degrees outside, and several inches of snow covered the ground. Even though it is now a lot warmer outside, Dan’s story still holds many lessons about the danger of binge drinking hard liquor, especially as summer celebrations kick into high gear.

By choosing liquor – such as Burnett’s which contains about 40% alcohol – binge drinkers are able to consume massive amounts of alcohol much faster than, say, downing several beers. And more Langley students are doing just that, according to a recent Saxon Scope poll, which showed that 86% of Langley students prefer liquor to beer. Consuming massive amounts of alcohol so quickly can bring on trouble just as fast.

“Students can feel the alcohol effects all at once, to the point that they are vomiting and cannot stand, walk, or stay conscious. If a person drinks to the point that they are experiencing any of these symptoms, they have alcohol poisoning and are at risk of dying,” said drug counselor Ms. Dawn- Lee Evans. Dan got lucky. He didn’t die, but his bloodstream was pumped full of alcohol by the time he felt it. That caused a lot of trouble not only for Dan but for his friends as well.

“No one even realized he was gone and we have no idea how long he was out there,” said Dan’s friend Joe,* who was also at the party and happened to wander outside to find Dan passed out. “He was lying in the snow, in and out of consciousness when I found him,” said Joe. “He was really drunk and couldn’t walk on his own even though he kept insisting he was fine and didn’t need help so I basically had to drag him back in.”

Dan spent the rest of the night sick over the toilet and said he has almost no memory of the night. “I saw his eyes rolling back in his head and he was on the ground in the bathroom mumbling,” said another friend at the party. “Everyone was really worried about him. He had blood and vomit all over himself and was just in really bad shape,” she added.

This situation is fairly common, since students too often fail to realize the significant dangers of alcohol poisoning and try to take matters into their own hands not realizing the risk their intoxicated friend may be in. “Alcohol poisoning is extremely dangerous and students should not take it lightly. If someone has consumed too much alcohol, they need immediate medical help. If a student is binge drinking with liquor the risk of rapid, severe impairment is high,” said Evans.

“It scares me because I know if no one found me I could’ve died in that weather. I put myself in a position where I was unable to take care of myself and that’s very dangerous,” Dan said. “Because of drinking I had no control over my body and couldn’t even keep myself safe.”

*Names changed to protect identity