What is Dewshine?

Dewshine is a new Mountain Dew product released by Pepsi in 2015, and is a clear, citrus soda. Despite the name, Dewshine is a non-alcoholic beverage that is starting to get a negative name associated with it.
The “redneck” version of dewshine [Mountain Dew mixed with methanol] has already caused two teenage deaths in Tennessee, and many hospitalizations. It is a new fad with teenagers in rural communities, causing trouble wherever it flows.
This mix of drinks and methanol has long been known to be toxic. In 2012, at least 20 people have died, and many sickened, from drinking alcohol that was tainted with methanol in the Czech Republic.
“That sounds like a really pathetic pastime,” said Alex Goth, ‘17. “There ought to be better things to do.”
People are actually taking methanol, otherwise known as racing fuel, and mixing it with the soft drink. Despite being from the ethanol family, it is not safe to drink, as normal alcohol would be. Methanol is formally known as wood alcohol, because it was made from distilling wood. Nowadays, it is made from natural gas. A third of an ounce of methanol can cause blindness when consumed, and one full ounce can kill a person. Methanol is also used as a solvent, much like acetone. So when methanol is consumed by people, it will have devastating effects.
“I believe it is ridiculous that people are mixing methanol with a soda,” Cage Campbell, ‘16
said.
The reason methanol is consumed is because it can get a person very drunk very quickly, but the side effects are worse than the hardest drugs in the world. It literally shuts down your cells, causes blindness, coma, and even death if consumed in large enough amounts.
“When people begin to die from these types of concoctions, it should be taken as more seriously,” Campbell said. “Similarly to a drug.”