https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYP085QJvtk
An Indiana senator has proposed a bill to the state senate to make the newly approved powdered alcohol, or Palcohol, illegal.
Palcohol was approved for sale by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau for sale March 10, but won’t be available for sale until summer.
The powdered alcohol comes in a 4-inch by 6-inch bag with a 2-inch gusset, and contains the equivalent to one shot of alcohol.
To make the drink, people only have to pour five ounces of water into the bag and shake it for about 30 seconds.
The bill created by State Sen. Ron Alting (R-Lafayette), Senate Bill 6, would make it illegal to use, possess, sell or buy powdered alcohol unless used for research professionals or universities.
Alting proposed the bill before Palcohol was even approved, but he said it was important to act when he did, just in case, according to a press release on indianastaterepublicans.com.
However, Mark Phillips, the creator of Palcohol, refuted all of those points in a video he posted on the website explaining some of the “edgy wording” the earlier, unfinished version included. He said since they weren’t expecting Palcohol to be approved so early and be in the public eye so early, the website was discovered before they wanted it to be.
“As questionable as that wording was – and I admit it was – I want to make it clear that we never suggested using Palcohol illegally, as some reported,” Phillips said in the video. “Because we weren’t prepared with the proper message about Palcohol, people imagined how it would be used.”
Alaska has already banned it, and other states including Louisiana and Pennsylvania have taken action to try to ban it as well.
Chris Johnson, the general manager of Muncie Liquor on Wheeling Avenue, said he didn’t doubt they would be selling the powdered alcohol when it becomes available.
“There will probably some real interest in it when it first comes out, but I’m not sure if it’s going to stick around and last very long,” Johnson said.
He said it seemed like a novelty-type product, something that wouldn’t ever catch on.
But it could also be something where younger kids could get their hands on it if people aren’t familiar with what it is, or aren’t paying attention to what they have.
“We’ll dabble in it and see how it does, but I’m not too overly excited about it,” Johnson said. “It seems like you’ll get an initial surge on it, it’ll pick up because people want to try it, and then it’ll depend on flavor and things like that.”
Kenneth Anderson, the founder of Students for Safe Drinking, said he thought the debate on powdered alcohol is "a lot of hoopla about nothing."
"[The powder] isn't turning into alcohol, it’s just releasing alcohol, so actually you get a pretty weak drink," Anderson said.
He said if people wanted to carry alcohol around in the most convenient way, they would get Everclear, which is 95 percent pure alcohol.
"If you wanted to do all of these terrible things like slip it into school and slip it into people's drinks and worrying about kids getting it by accident, pure alcohol is the best way to do all of that stuff," Anderson said. "It’s no more dangerous to have around your house than bottled fluids. If those are around your house, kids can get into it."
He said he didn't think it would be overly popular once the novelty wears off.
"I suspect people are going to say 'this is a really weak, nasty drink, I don't like it' and they're not going to buy it again," Anderson said.
Julie Sturek, a health educator at the Office of Health, Alcohol and Drug Education, said she doesn't think having powdered alcohol is any more harmful than just taking a shot of liquid alcohol.
"The fact remains that you still have to be 21 to buy it, it will be sold in liquor stores," Sturek said. "I think it’s the latest fad that we’re seeing now, kind of like mixing caffeine and alcohol was."
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