The moralists, the concerned, the party-goers and the government watchdogs all have something to say about powdered alcohol. The mania began last year when the first U.S. company seeking to saturate the powdered alcohol market was ultimately shot-down by the FDA after the agency initially approved the substance in error .
That company was Palcohol.
In response to the slew of negative publicity last year, Palcohol creator Mark Phillips put out a video to address some of the negative claims made by critics. Sadly, no mention of how the stuff actually tastes.
But 2015 is shaping up to be quite another year for the company, and a saucy one at that. The FDA finally approved (again) powdered alcohol for sale in the United States, the Inquisitr reported this week.
And Palcohol has 42 additional reasons to celebrate. Only eight states so far have banned powdered alcohol: Alaska, Iowa, Louisiana, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia. If your state isn’t on the list, you may have the pleasure (or displeasure) of sampling one of their five powdered alcohol offerings to be sold in packets equivalent to one shot of alcohol in the summer of 2015 .
Missing from the national dialogue is the matter of taste. Just what can we expect a pouch of alcohol powder dissolved in water or a mixer to taste like? Does the public even care? No one’s asking. The media has been busy playing the moral gatekeeper on behalf of the overly paranoid who fear that minors will have yet another way to easily abuse alcohol in the form of a new and sneaky powdered alcohol. The reality of the situation is – of course, a small minority of youngsters will! We already have kids sniffing airplane glue and inhaling compressed gas from whipped cream cans, so yes, expect a few inquiring young minds to discover several innovative ways to illegally ingest powdered alcohol.
But the National Institute on Drug Abuse has some good news. Surveys continue to show that American 8 th , 10 th , and 12 th graders are decreasing their use of alcohol , cigarettes, and prescription pain relievers. They’re even cutting back on the weird stuff like K2/Spice and bath salts. It just goes to show although powdered alcohol may receive some initial negative buzz from the media, in reality, there is a host of other things out there kids are willing to try that are either over-the-counter or sold at Bed, Bath, & Beyond.
Toasting to the safety of minors is something we may all be able to raise our glasses to and cheer. It’s just a matter of individual preference, and whether or not powdered alcohol is going to be worth the hype once we dissolve the stuff into the discerning cocktails of our everyday lives has yet to be determined.