POTENTIAL PALCOHOL 'PANDEMIC'? By Senator Steve Waugh

An emergency bill prohibiting a person from selling or offering to sell alcoholic beverages in powder or crystalline form to be used directly or in combination with water or any other substance, has passed the Senate.

The House agreed on a ban from June 1 to June 30, 2016. The Senate approved a two-year ban via Senate Bill 937. The two chambers will have to agree on the length of the ban in order for it to become a law. Six states have passed legislation to ban powdered alcohol and federal lawmakers are also working on a ban of this product.

Produced by Mark Phillips in 2012, powdered alcohol was originally sprinkled on foods and was snorted as a way of quickly getting drunk. Phillips, who plans to sell the powder for about $4 a drink, has defended his product saying it is no more dangerous than bottled alcohol sold in liquor stores.

Marketing will present it as a practical lightweight drink convenient for hikers, bikers, and kayakers who don't want to travel with heavy liquor bottles. The producer says that it needs to be used responsibly.

The company sells rum, vodka, and mixed drinks called Cosmopolitan, Lemon Drop and Powderita; each drink containing 10 percent alcohol by volume - equivalent to a glass of wine, or one ounce of powder and one ounce of alcohol in equal parts. Phillips hopes to have it on store shelves by this summer.

Lawmakers and public health officials are very concerned about the increased chances of underage drinking and the safety of teens and young adults who are calling it a form of 'Kool-Aid', a product easy to conceal.

Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot, asked wholesalers and retailers to enact a banon Palcohol. "The likelihood of widespread Palcohol abuse, particularly among underage consumers, carries a real possibility of tragic consequences, which is why I'm so pleased by the industry's unified response to protect the public from such a dangerous product," said Franchot.