51Fifty: Mental Health Advocates Decry Energy Drink's Name

MERCED COUNTY (CBS13) — A locally produced energy drink may get the nod from energy drink lovers, but mental health advocates call it offensive.

The energy drink 51Fifty hit shelves a few weeks ago next to Monster and Rockstar. Customer Zach Hartman thought the name fit the drink.

"I just thought it was a good name for an energy drink, because you're going to get pumped up. That's what they do. Energy drinks pump me up. I don't know, I thought it was a good name," he said.

But disability advocate Barry Smith doesn't think it's a good name, since 51-50 is the police code for requesting a psychiatric hold.

"People with disabilities will definitely be offended by the term 51Fifty because someone may have had a hold put on them. It could trigger some kind of memory also," he said.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and organizations such as the Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living and the National Alliance on Mental Illness say many companies don't recognize how their products and marketing can be insensitive.

An administrator at 51Fifty declined to comment on the story or their decision process behind the name. Smith says his organization is writing a letter to 51Fifty to discuss sensitivity and mental-health awareness.

"To advocate change and sensitivity awareness for all people with all types of disabilities," he said.