Michigan: Ban on powdered alcohol signed into law

Source: Detroit Free Press

By Kathleen Gray

October 28, 2015

Michiganders won’t get the chance to buy, sell or even use powdered alcohol.

Lt. Gov. Brian Calley signed a preemptive bill on Wednesday banning the product, even though it has never been introduced in the Michigan market.

Sen. Rick Jones, R-Grand Ledge, who introduced the bill, said it was necessary to prevent people, especially underage drinkers, from getting their hands on a product that can be easily disguised and then mixed with water for a potent drink.

“Prohibiting powdered alcohol is the best way to protect our children from a product marketed with flavors like ‘lemon drop’ that appeal to kids,” Jones said. “Powdered alcohol could be easily abused, even without a person’s knowledge, and it doesn’t belong in our great state.”

But Mark Phillips, the man behind the product known as palcohol and its Arizona-based company, Lipsmark, says concerns are exaggerated and fueled by those who don’t understand the product. Michigan was among several states considering a ban on palcohol sales.

A national poll done in June for the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital shows that a majority of parents support an all-out ban on the powdered spirits, packaged for on-the-go. Roughly 85% want restrictions on the way it’s marketed, and 84% want a ban on online sales.

The bill will take effect in 90 days.