The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau approved powdered alcohol Tuesday as Wisconsin is pushing for a bill to ban the product.
The powdered alcohol — called Palcohol — turns any liquid into an alcoholic beverage when added.
Wisconsin lawmakers have been pushing to ban powdered alcohol in Wisconsin. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, who is the author of the bill that would prohibit powdered alcohol in Wisconsin, said they worked to accelerate the bill since they heard it would be passed. While there is no official timeline, Carpenter said he hopes they will be able to get the bill through the Legislature before discussions about the biennium budget begin in April.
Joseph Glass, a University of Wisconsin professor and expert on alcohol use disorders said the concern stems from overdose. Glass said powdered alcohol was a “novel substance,” compared to regular alcohol. Other novel substances, like powdered caffeine, might be comparable in terms of accidental overdose, Glass said.
“We know how much coffee to drink in a day, but we don’t know how much powdered caffeine to take,” Glass said. “It’s in those instances that we usually see these cases where people mistake how much to take and take too much.”
Carpenter said last year the TTB approved Palcohol, then rescinded its approval. He said he was unaware of the reasoning behind approving it a second time, but said he thought it was strange.
The Palcohol website said there is no evidence that powdered alcohol will be abused differently than liquid alcohol and all concerns are unfounded speculation. They also said the FDA and TTB have reviewed and tested Palcohol and found no issues in regards to selling the product.
“What information does anyone have that the federal agencies don’t have that would cause one to ban it … especially since no one has had access to the product and has no first hand knowledge of it?,” the website said. “It’s irresponsible to pass laws based on speculation.”
According to the website, they hope to have the product available by the summer.
Carpenter said he believes they will be able to ban powdered alcohol, due to positive response of the bill during his recent town hall meetings and support from the Wisconsin Tavern League. Carpenter said with the drinking culture already in Wisconsin, there is no reason to include an additional product.
“I think we have enough problems with alcohol abuse and people getting alcohol that they shouldn’t … It’s overwhelmingly the downside, the consequences to the criminal justice system, to getting younger people into drinking, to abusing alcohol for example at a Badgers game,” Carpenter said. “It just makes it so much easier for the potential for things to go wrong.”
