The Arizona Senate passed a bill, sponsored by Rep. Bob Thorpe, that would ban powdered alcohol in Arizona. Currently, the Federal Government is in the process of legalizing powdered alcohol.
First responders, business owners, and government officials across the state are concerned about the potential abuse of the product. Arizona would join Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont that have already banned the substance also known as “Palcohol.”
Thorpe ran the bill due to his concerns about its potential abuse. Thorpe, a state’s right representative argued that the states have the authority to regulate alcohol, and according to Thorpe the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control has been tracking legislation across the country and has held the position for the past year that they want powdered alcohol banned here in Arizona. Additionally, the Beer and Wine Distributors of Arizona support a ban.
“I do not want to harm the inventor of powdered alcohol or limit Arizona consumers, however this product has an extremely high potential for abuse, and can seriously harm our youth and our families through increased addiction, injury and death.” Thorpe concluded by saying “I fully support capitalism, the free market and innovation, but I can not endorse these new intoxicants whose main feature is ease of concealment.”
Palcohol is marketed as an ounce of rum or vodka in powdered form, which mixed with water, equals a shot of liquor.
On their website, the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence site the concerns of Executive Director of the County Sheriffs of Colorado Chris Johnson, who said: “I think being proactive and jumping out in front of the problem is probably the right thing to do. It really doesn’t have any place in our society, powered alcohol. We have enough problems with the liquid kind.”
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer had requested that the Drug Administration (FDA) prevent federal approval. He called on the FDA to investigate the potential harmful effects of the product, according to Gawker.com.
Gawker reported that in 2014, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau “approved Palcohol last month but have since said that the approval was a mistake.”