JEFFERSON CITY — The House General Laws Committee heard a bill Wednesday that would eliminate the sale of high-caffeine energy drinks in Missouri public and charter schools.

House Bill 1880, introduced by Rep. Renee Reuter, R-Imperial, would prohibit schools from selling beverages containing more than the American Academy of Pediatrics daily recommended 100 milligrams of caffeine to students.

Conversations about the bill began last year when Seckman High School senior Sabrina Formby gave a presentation to several representatives, including Reuter, about the dangers of overconsuming caffeine.

According to a National Institute of Health study found on the National Library of Medicine, caffeine is the most consumed psychoactive drug in the world.

“It’s been 15 years since my youngest child graduated from high school, so I had no idea that they even had energy drinks,” Reuter said. “So it’s important that the experts (students) who live it every day came and talked to me about it.”

Formby and four other Seckman students testified about their personal experiences and observations regarding energy drink consumption at their school.

One of those students, junior Addison Burnett, spoke about the reliance she’s seen students develop for energy drinks.

“I had my first energy drink around age 13 and I still remember how shaky and on edge I felt,” she said. “Once students start drinking caffeinated drinks and experience a caffeine crash, they may try to stop it by consuming more and more.”

Rep. Doyle Justus, R-Troy, expressed support for the bill, discussing behaviors he witnessed during his 26 years as an educator.

“If I had a dollar for every student who showed up in the morning with a 24-ounce energy drink in their backpack, I could buy everyone in this room a really nice dinner,” he said. “So it’s definitely an issue.”

Several committee members, including Rep. Holly Jones, R-Eureka, questioned whether energy drinks should be sold in schools at all.

“While I really love the bill, 100 milligrams seems like a threshold that is still too high,” she said. “I don’t think there should be Red Bull or Monsters with 80 milligrams of caffeine in high schools either.”

Emily Wilkerson, a spokesperson for substance use prevention agency PreventEd, spoke on the effects that overconsumption of caffeine has on teenagers and young adults.

“Their brains are still developing so it’s our jobs as adults to protect them,” she said.

For the Seckman students who testified, passing this bill represents a step toward raising awareness about caffeine consumption and encouraging healthier choices in schools.

“People will want to know why energy drinks are being taken out of vending machines, which is a perfect opportunity to share the dangers and discourage high caffeine consumption levels,” Formby said.