New York Bans Palcohol - Why Powdered Alcohol will be abused by underage College Students

“This dangerous product is a public health disaster waiting to happen. I am proud to sign this legislation that will keep powdered alcohol off the shelves and out of the wrong hands.”

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo commenting while signing legislation banning the sale of Palcohol, a powdered alcohol product

Looks like Alcohol will be getting no love from at least twenty (20) States in the USA.

This as the State of New York has joined in the ban of Palcohol, the powdered alcohol as reported in the article “New York Bans Sale Of Powdered Alcohol, Joins 20 Other States”, published August 17 2015 By Guneet Bhatia, International Business Times. 

The crystalline powdered alcohol product has not found favour with New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

This despite the stamp of approval given by the U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau on Palcohol back in March 2015 as reported in my blog article entitled “Palcohol officially approved by TTB - Why Children will Abuse as US States and Countries ban this @Palcoholic product”.

That list of states in the POWDERED ALCOHOL 2015 LEGISLATION is as follows:

1.      Alabama

2.      Alaska

3.      Connecticut

4.      Georgia

5.      Indiana

6.      Kansas

7.      Louisiana

8.      Maine

9.      Nebraska

10.  Nevada

11.  North Carolina

12.  North Dakota

13.  Ohio

14.  Oregon

15.  South Carolina

16.  Tennessee

17.  Utah

18.  Vermont

19.  Virginia

20.  Washington

New York joins this list along with Maryland and Minnesota who've had temporary bans in place since July 2015. So why does the US Local Government hate Palcohol?

New York Bans Palcohol - Why Powdered Alcohol will be abused by underage College Students

The reason may be that Palcohol is easily available to persons under the legal age for drinking, which in the US of A is 21. With so many colleges in the state and the start of School on the horizon, the Governor is probably keen to prevent the product from falling into the wrong hands, especially as it's not alcohol and thus can be sold outside of a bar setting.

To quote New York Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz on Friday August 14^th 2015: “Powdered alcohol is a product with no legitimate reason for being. Kids can stash Palcohol in their pocket when they leave the house for a party, and their parents would never know the difference”.

Then there is the dangerous nature of this product as explained in the article “Yes, powdered alcohol is real. It’s already banned in New York and at least 20 other states”, published August 15 2015 By Abby Phillip, The Washington Post.

Palcohol, which is being marketed by Lipsmark, an Arizona-based company, is sold in a variety of flavours:

1.      Cosmopolitan

2.      Powderita (a margarita flavor)

3.      Rum

4.      Vodka

If mixed in inappropriate concentrations, it can cause severe intoxication. Worse, some persons have found ways of ingesting Palcohol via snorting, like cocaine.

Some College seniors have even found faster ways to get drunk via pouring it down their asses, which is called butt-chugging.

Inventor of the Palcohol, Mark Phillips, is now facing an uphill battle to have these various bans reversed, claiming that the point of powdered alcohol is convenience and that it's safer than bottled alcohol or beers, quote:  “Palcohol is not some super concentrated version of alcohol. It's simply one shot of alcohol in powdered form. When I hike, kayak, backpack whatever. I like to have a drink when I reach my destination. Carrying liquid alcohol and mixers in bottles to make a margarita, for example, was totally impractical”.

So will he succeed? Or will Senator Joseph Griffo succeed in having a ban placed on the product, possibly labeling it a drug like crack or cocaine?

On paper it's a great idea, but it's just too easy to abuse something that so portable that's already illegal for the under-21 crowd.

Here’s the link:

Palcohol Website

Palcohol Twitter Feed: @Palcoholic

Palcohol Facebook Page

Palcohol YouTube Channel