Say goodbye to a good friend of yours, you New York kids out there… the Empire State is the next in a handful of others where 4Loko will no longer be on the shelves by the end of this year.  So stock up while you can…

First they came for the SPARKS, now the 4LOKO??  Remember freedom??  Oh welp.

The NY Times has some more:

On the streets and in the bodegas, some people say they enjoy the taste of Four Loko, a potent and fruity malt beverage high in alcohol content and caffeine that critics have called a “blackout in a can.”

It will not be on the shelves much longer. On Sunday, state officials announced that Phusion Projects, the Chicago company that makes Four Loko, had voluntarily agreed to halt shipments to New York State by Friday.

Gov. David A. Paterson and the State Liquor Authority said in a statement that distributors would have until Dec. 10 to clear their inventory of the product. Groceries, bodegas and candy stores would have a longer, unspecified grace period.

“This is going to protect our young people,” State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein said at a news conference outside the liquor authority’s offices in Harlem. “This is going to make sure our young people no longer have access to this dangerous product. But I don’t think our work is done.”

Mr. Klein has for months pressed for stricter regulations of caffeinated alcoholic beverages, which have been said to cause a “wide-awake drunk.”

Four Loko, which has an alcohol content of 12 percent and as much caffeine as a cup of coffee, came under scrutiny this fall after students who drank it at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, Wash., and Ramapo College in New Jersey ended up in emergency rooms, some with high levels of alcohol poisoning.

Earlier this month, both Washington State and Michigan banned the sale of energy drinks that contain alcohol and caffeine.

Jaisen Freeman, a founder and the managing partner of Phusion Projects, said in a statement that the company was the first to voluntarily halt shipments.

“And we think it shows that we are not turning a deaf ear to what’s going on,” he said, “that a select few have chosen to abuse our products, drink them while under age or break the law and sell them to minors.”

Kirk Leslie, 28, a Harlem resident who happened to be passing the news conference where there was a display of Four Loko and other beverages, said that the alcoholic energy drink “tasted nice” and that “they got worse stuff out there.”

In some uptown bodegas, where Four Loko is often found between the beer and the juices, owners and clerks did not seem particularly concerned.

“It’s not that popular,” said Ali Basem, a 22-year-old clerk at a store on West 135th Street.

Mr. Basem added that that he had sold only about 100 cans in two months. He reinforced Senator Klein’s concerns when he said that he had a pretty good idea of who was attracted to the drink.

“The kids get wild when they ask for it,” he said. “When they drink too much of it, they start acting crazy.” Mr. Basem said many customers turned to Four Loko after liquor stores close.

“I’m not ready yet” - mollysoda

Are you ready for the potential end of 4Loko??

Are you gonna let in fade into the oblivion of beverage heaven with Cocaine and Diet Coke with Lemon??  Or are you gonna stand up for your right to have instant blackouts and tell your Congressmen to calm the fuck down??

Or are you just gonna be a little pissed, do absolutely nothing about, and just plan a wild night with all your friends where you go 4Loko loco and deal with the consequences in the morning??