Bans

30 More States Are Trying to Ban Powdered Alcohol

Don't drink the Kool-Aid.
Don’t drink the Kool-Aid.

Now that powdered alcohol has received full federal approval, the fight against it is mounting into a Lord of the Rings’ Middle Earth–size war. According to the AP, about 30 state legislatures are now frantically trying to ban the product before its release spells instant doom sometime later this summer.

Six other states already put the kibosh on sales, and just this week, a restaurant association in Massachusetts, said that the state’s preemptive ban on selling it doesn’t go far enough — the group wants merely possessing powdered alcohol to be illegal.

Not surprisingly, creator Mark Phillips feels misunderstood. He tells the AP that he’s working to “educate” legislators and the public about the benefits of insta-Cosmopolitans, but as a man who’s had “more than 80” jobs, he doesn’t have the resources to fight every state. Nonetheless, he’s running a vigorous PR campaign that’s so far included newspaper op-eds and videos of himself furiously shaking the powder to demonstrate that it can’t be used to spike a drink. His other argument taps into reverse psychology: Banning powdered alcohol will only “make people want it even more.” And obviously, if it’s cool and illegal, it’s definitely going to get snorted.

[AP]

30 More States Are Trying to Ban Powdered Alcohol