Amethyst of synthetic quartz is used. Treated amethyst is produced by gamma ray, X-ray or electron beam irradiation of clear quartz (rock crystal) which has been first doped with ferric impurities. On exposure to heat, the irradiation effects can be partially cancelled and amethyst generally becomes yellow or even green, and much of the citrine, cairngorm, or yellow quartz of jewelry is said to be merely "burnt amethyst". The Greek word "amethystos" may be translated as "not drunken", from Greek "a-", "not" + "methustos", "intoxicated". Amethyst was considered to be a strong antidote against drunkenness, which is why wine goblets were
Amethyst Initiative the current drinking age. Radley Balko, of "Reason," wryly noted inconsistency opponents of the Amethyst Initiative believe that it "would be a "national tragedy" to, for example, allow 19- and 20-year-old men and women returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to have a beer in celebration of completing their tours of duty." Balko also noted research showing that underage drinking laws had not reduced highway deaths. In November 2008, the Student Senate at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse rejected a proposal to urge that university's chancellor to sign the Amethyst Initiative. Supposedly the first such attempt by a student body to