Legislators are looking to ban the sale of powdered alcohol in Kansas — before it even hits liquor store shelves.
“We as an industry want you to go ahead and help us take care of this powdering product before it becomes an issue,” Spencer Duncan, a lobbyist for the Kansas Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, told the House Federal and State Affairs Committee Tuesday.
The proposed legislation, House Bill 2208, would prohibit the sale of powdered alcohol, known as Palcohol, by licensed liquor stores and distributors.
The powdered alcohol comes in 4- by 6-inch one-shot pouches and when mixed with water produces alcohol that comes in six varieties: rum, vodka, cosmopolitan, mojito, lemondrop and powderita.
The developers of Palcohol hope to begin selling their product this spring.
Last spring, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) approved Palcohol, but the federal agency later said the approval was issued in errorand revoked it because of labeling issues.
Rep. Broderick Henderson, a Democrat from Kansas City, said Palcohol should have federal approval before it’s allowed in Kansas.
“I think we need to do something about it, and then probably end up in the near future going back to make sure that was enough regulation,” Henderson said.
Phil Bradley of the Kansas Licensed Beverage Association said 24 states are considering banning Palcohol. Alaska, Delaware, South Carolina, Vermont and Louisiana already have banned it.
Proponents of the bill are concerned Palcohol will be slipped unknowingly into drinks or food, increase underage drinking or be snorted like cocaine.
It’s also easy to conceal, which raises other concerns for bars that are responsible for alcohol consumed on site.
“We are very concerned that if it becomes legal, or even if it comes from our surrounding states, that it will start being brought into our establishments and used in an inappropriate manner and will endanger our customers,” Bradley said.
Rep. Steve Brunk, a Republican from Wichita and chairman of the House Federal and State Affairs Committee, asked if bars were worried about losing revenue from customers who will bring their own Palcohol to mix with free water.
Bradley said the bigger concern is if a bar patron is sold or given four waters in a row and officers find that person inebriated, then the bar might be found liable although it never provided the alcohol.
Dean Reynoldson of Alcoholic Beverage Control said TTB must approve Palcohol before it is sold in Kansas.
During questioning, Rep. James Todd, a Republican from Overland Park, asked Reynoldson whether ABC would allow sales of Palcohol at liquor stores or distributors that request it.
“If that would occur, then Kansas has the opportunity to not approve that label, and that’s the position that we would take at this time,” Reynoldson said.
Reynoldson said the bill would ban Palcohol sales by retailers and distributors but not at on-premises locations like bars, clubs or restaurants. That would require an amendment to the Club and Drinking Establishment Act, which isn’t in the proposed bill.
No one testified Tuesday in favor of Palcohol, but Mark Phillips, the Arizona entrepreneur who invented it, has posted a statement on his website addressed to states considering bans of the product.
The website says that the company, Lipsmark LLC, is “disheartened” because states aren’t asking Phillips to testify about his product.
“Banning powdered alcohol is the most irresponsible action a legislature can take,” the statement says.
The statement also says that because Palcohol is in high demand, there will be a place for it on the black market if states ban it.
Phillips said he developed Palcohol as a convenient way to carry alcohol with him on outdoor hikes and camping trips.
Palcohol can be used for industrial or human consumption purposes. The Kansas bill only deals with human consumption.
Ashley Booker is an intern for KHI News Service in Topeka, a partner in the Heartland Health Monitor team.