Demonstrations show how little alcohol it takes to get drunk

Over two dozen drinking demonstrations will be held across Iowa today by those pushing to lower the legal limit for judging drunk drivers. The exercise is called “oh-eight” on August 8th, which happens to be 08/08, digitally. “Controlled drinking” demonstrations will be staged in 26 Iowa cities. Participants will be given sobriety tests — like “touch your nose” — and a breath test. Pete Grady of the State Prosecutors Training Council says the idea is to highlight how drunk you are when your blood alcohol level gets to point-oh-8 (.08).A 150 pound person would have to drink just under four cans of beer in an hour to reach the point-oh-eight blood alcohol level. Iowa’s current standard for judging drunk drivers is point-one-oh. Point-oh-eight seminars will be held today in Adel, Anamosa, Atlantic, Bettendorf, Burlington, Carroll, Cedar Rapids, Centerville, Clear Lake, Coralville/Iowa City, Corydon, Council Bluffs, Des Moines, Fairfield, Grundy Center, Hampton, Indianola, Johnston, Logan Center, Marshalltown, Mount Ayr, Nevada, Red Oak, Sioux City, Washington and Waterloo.