Anheuser-Busch and Miller Brewing Co. have been served with subpoenas by a group of state attorneys general investigating the sales and marketing of alcoholic energy drinks, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported Feb. 20.

AGs from New York, Maine, Maryland, Arizona, and Iowa are demanding documents related to products like Anheuser-Busch's Tilt and Bud Extra and Miller's Sparks drinks, which contain caffeine as well as alcohol. Critics say the products target underage drinkers and are dangerous because they mix stimulants (caffeine) and depressants (alcohol).

Controversy over alcoholic energy drinks led Anheuser-Busch to stop selling its Spykes line of products last year, but others are still on the market.

A spokesperson for Anheuser-Busch contends that mixing stimulants and depressants is nothing new, noting that people have been drinking rum and Coke for years.

"It is important to realize that the AGs are investigating products whose formulation and labeling already have been approved by the federal authorities, as well as by those states that require state liquor authority approval," said Francine Katz, vice president of communications and consumer affairs for Anheuser-Busch. "If the Attorneys General truly believe that -- despite the state and federal regulatory approvals -- alcohol and caffeine should not be mixed, then they should use their powers to persuade these authorities to regulate or ban all such beverages, not just the lower-alcohol, prepackaged ones."