HOULTON — The Aroostook County town of Houlton was praised – in a tongue-in-cheek way – on the Comedy Central cable TV show “The Colbert Report” Wednesday for putting a stop to the sale of lemonade that contains a trace amount of alcohol.
In a report titled “Nailed ‘em,” host Stephen Colbert explained that last fall a teenager from Houlton had bought a bottle of Fentiman’s Victorian Lemonade, made in Canada. When the teen noticed the label said it contained “less than 0.5 percent alcohol” he called authorities. Eventually, after consulting with police and the state Attorney General’s Office, a warning was issued “cautioning” underage Mainers to not drink the lemonade.
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Police and state officials were shown in the report saying Maine had “zero tolerance” for selling alcohol to minors. Colbert, who plays an over-the-top conservative on his show, praised Maine officials for protecting children from the influence of Canada, a popular target of his.
He also explained, however, that many American soft drinks contain the same trace amount of alcohol, but have the sense to “not panic our kids with accurate labeling.” The report showed Maine officials pouring the bottles of lemonade out onto the ground.
View a video of the report.
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