News has come in that the sale of powdered alcohol has been approved by the U.S. authorities. It has caused a controversy due to fear of its misuse after many states in the U.S. have recently permitted medical and recreational use of marijuana. Powdered alcohol can be easily mixed with water or other drinks, sprinkled on any kind of food, and even snorted.

The United States government officials have been in talks for the approval of powdered alcohol for quite some time now. They had even considered approving the production and allowing Palcohol to start the manufacturing process last year but they decided to postpone this until further reports came in. However, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau have finally come out with their decision this week. It was clarified that the concerns raised by the bureau have been attended to and sale of four different variants of Palcohol has been allowed.

The website of the producers of Palcohol, Lipsmark, mentioned in a post that the company was relieved after the decisive approval for their powdered alcohol product. They mentioned that it would be marketed and sold legally across the United States. They also stated that they would begin work to get the set-up ready for a factory producing powdered alcohol. Though they indicated that it might take some time, Lipsmark is planning to launch and begin supplying their powdered alcohol product, Palcohol by summer of 2015.

Exactly like in the case of marijuana, different states in the U.S. would have the authority to control or disallow the sale of Palcohol within their jurisdiction. Reportedly, a number of states have already declared their strategies to ban the sale of powdered alcohol. The only difference is that sale of powdered alcohol has been approved by the Federal authorities whereas sale of marijuana has not yet been allowed by the Federal government.

Various questions have been asked about the regulation and control of the use of Palcohol. There are many concerns that the authorities in the U.S. might have to deal with regarding misuse of the product, along with its sale to under-age children. Concerns were also raised about the possibility of young people snorting the powdered alcohol and if Palcohol’s ability to be packed in small pouches would allow it to be carried to public places or even mixed with drinks by miscreants.

The web page of Lipsmark mentions that Palcohol was the brain-child of Mark Philips and they are trying to get the product patented. They have further explained the reason Philips came up with the unconventional idea of Palcohol. The website shares that being an active guy, Philips likes adventure sports like hiking, camping, biking, and kayaking. There are times when Philips likes to chill and take some rest with an adult drink. However, due to luggage constraints, water is the only liquid he likes to carry. That is how Philips came up with the idea of transforming alcohol in powdered form and enjoying it simply by adding water to it. Now with the sale of powdered alcohol being approved, it would be interesting to see how the citizens of the United States respond to it.

By Ankur Sinha

Sources:

abc News

CBS News

The Times Of India

Photos by:

Andreas Levers – License

Kirti Poddar – License

Billy Wilson – License

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