The Akron Legal News

Another effort made to ban powdered alcohol

TIFFANY L. PARKS
Special to the Legal News
Published: March 3, 2015

In the last legislative session, the Wholesale Beer and Wine Association of Ohio backed a measure that generally sought to ban the sale or offering for sale for human consumption of powdered or crystalline alcohol.

“We believe that prohibiting the sale of powdered alcohol in Ohio is the right thing to do,” WBWAO representative Tim Bechtold told lawmakers late last year in support of House Bill 594.

“In short, we do not see the need for it and feel that its dangers far outweigh any possible benefits.”

The sponsors of the bipartisan proposal, Reps. Ron Gerberry, D-Canfield, and Jim Buchy, R-Greenville, reintroduced the bill into the Ohio General Assembly last week.

House Bill 14, a narrowed version of HB 594, offers the following exemptions from the powdered alcohol prohibition: any substance regulated by the Food and Drug Administration that is not beer or intoxicating liquor or a compound that could be converted into beer or intoxicating liquor; medication that requires a prescription; and over-the-counter medication.

Under the bill, powdered or crystalline alcohol is a product that is manufactured into a powdered or crystalline form and contains any amount of alcohol.

In campaigning for the bill’s provisions, Gerberry and Buchy said state law needs to be revised because the FDA may authorize the sale of powdered alcohol in the future.

“This is a new and untested substance in the marketplace,” Gerberry said. “It would be best for Ohio to allow this product to have experience in the marketplace elsewhere so that we know what the potential harm to individuals who use the substance may be.”

The lawmakers said powdered or crystalline alcohol, also known an palcohol, is easily concealed and can be added to any beverage to make it an alcoholic drink.

As a product that is new to the market, the pair said concerns have been raised about its safety and its availability to underage Ohioans.

Questions have also arisen regarding how much of the substance can be added to a drink and how it will be ingested.

“With the (state’s) growing drug problem, we need to continue working for policies that reduce these issues,” Buchy said.

In addition to the WBWAO, the Ohio Licensed Beverage Association also endorsed the bill in the last General Assembly.

“We support efforts to ban the sale of powdered alcohol; a form of alcohol that is, frankly, so nascent that little is known about (its) potential effects,” said Jacob Evans, an OLBA representative.

From the perspective of hospitality establishment owners that serve alcohol, Evans said concerns about powdered alcohol include control of the product being brought into licensed-permit establishments.

He said a palcohol website promoted the product as a way for consumers to save money by mixing their own drinks when visiting establishments.

“Despite claims that the packaging is larger and therefore more difficult to conceal than, the maker’s own videos tout that the packaging is much lighter than liquid alcohol and therefore easier to move and transport,” Evans said.

The OLBA is also concerned about overconsumption.

“A package of powdered alcohol is said to contain the same amount of alcohol as a shot of spirituous liquor. However, there is nothing to prevent several packages being poured into one and thus making an excessively strong alcoholic beverage,” Evans said.

Evans went on to say the maker of powdered alcohol originally used “edgy” marketing to say the product should not be snorted.

“After receiving criticism that the site was in essence confirming that is a possible ingestion method, the refrain is that the powder has been ‘bulked’ up to make it more difficult to snort and would take ‘an hour to ingest the equivalent of one shot.’ Regardless of time, the possibility remains,” he said.

Evans said the OLBA, like others in the alcohol beverage industry, believe in the responsible promotion and consumption of adult products.

“We believe that too many questions arise and are unsatisfactorily answered at this time regarding powdered alcohol,” he said. “Therefore, at this time we believe that the product is not appropriate for the state of Ohio and support the banning of the product.”

HB 14 has been referred to the House Government Accountability and Oversight Committee.

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