Wisconsin could soon join a number of states that ban the sale of powdered alcohol ahead of its proposed sale this summer.
State Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, urged lawmakers Thursday to pass a bill banning the substance, called “Palcohol” by its creators, which was approved Wednesday by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.
“The potential for abuse just is too great to justify this type of product,” Carpenter said in a statement. “Today I reached out [to] the chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary and Public Safety and request[ed] that a public hearing on this bill be set quickly.”
The Wisconsin Legislature defines powdered alcohol as “any substance that is sold in powder or crystalline form, that contains more than 0.4 percent alcohol by weight, and that is fit for human consumption either in its powder or crystalline form or after it is added to food or reconstituted with water or another liquid.”
According to Palcohol’s website, the product is simply “liquid alcohol in powder form.”
When mixed with water, a one-ounce pouch produces the equivalent of a standard mixed drink.
The website lists rum and vodka flavors, which can be added to mixers, and three cocktail flavors that can be added to water to create cosmopolitans, lemon drops and margaritas, which it calls “powderitas.”
In his statement, Carpenter expressed concern the powder will make it easier to sneak alcohol into events and that kids could easily mistake the pouches for something else.
“It is not so easy to hide a fifth of vodka in your pocket, but packets of powder could be easily hidden in pockets or backpacks, making enforcement very challenging,” Carpenter said.
Several states have already banned the substance, including Alaska, Massachusetts, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina, Michigan and Vermont.
Along with Wisconsin, more than 15 other states are also considering banning powdered alcohol.
