Kristi Rieg: Save Mart does the right thing in banning energy drink

Re “Savemart drops brand name tied to illness” (Page 10A, March 23): NAMI Merced County, the local affiliate of the National Alliance of Mental Illness, would like to commend Save Mart on its recent decision to discontinue the energy drink 51FIFTY, whose slogan is “Live the Madness.” NAMI members, the family, friends, and folks who live with serious brain illnesses, know the agony of these illnesses, made even worse by the stigma and mocking of a society that blames the victims.

When someone is so ill, frightened and confused that they are in imminent danger of hurting themselves or someone else, a police call of “5150” can result in forcibly committing that person to a hospital crisis unit. To characterize the most terrifying, humiliating experience of someone’s life as though it were an adventure in high-energy marketing adds painful insult to existing injury. Thank you, Save Mart, for your action.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Kristi Rieg: Save Mart does the right thing in banning energy drink."