Creative Commons/Kyle James

Four Loko still on the shelves earlier this month

The illicit Four Loko market is booming. The neon-colored caffeinated alcoholic beverage (I know, what could go wrong?) known as "blackout in a can" is being taken off shelves at the behest of the FDA after several tragic-yet-predictable Four Loko-induced accidents. 

And already, as of Saturday night on the 49 bus traveling down Van Ness Avenue in San Francisco, entrepreneurial young folks were making shady deals for leftover cases of Four Loko. A bright-eyed young woman was chatting up a middle-aged liquor store worker sitting in front of her. She was very pleased to learn that his liquor store had cases of Four Loko that it had been forced to pull off the shelves. 

"How many cases of the watermelon do you have?" she asked, referencing the pink-hued variety in the green cans. 

"Oh, I think we have about six of those," said the older man. 

"Oh I'd love to buy them," said the young woman. "You can sell them for $20 each on Craigslist." 

"The cases?" asked the older man.

"No, for each can," she said. "People really want them now." 

And, indeed, you can check out Four Loko for sale on Craigslist right now, as this CL post shows. 

As the old man got off the bus, he gave the young woman the number of his boss so they could make the transaction. "I don't want to be involved with this," he said. "You can talk with him about business."