Palcohol: Powdered alcohol made legal in the US after labelling issue is resolved

Powdered alcohol, which can be mixed into drinks, has been made legal in the United States. In 2014, Palcohol was banned by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau over labelling inaccuracies after it was approved for a brief period.

Bureau spokesman Tom Hogue said the labelling issues have now been resolved and four varieties of the drug will be sold in off-licences from the summer onwards to those aged 21 and over.

But it was up to the individual states as to whether they would regulate the sale of the alcoholic product. Alaska, Delaware, Louisiana, South Carolina and Vermont have already banned powdered alcohol. Lawmakers in Minnesota, Ohio, New York and Colorado are also considering bans.

"It really doesn't have any place in our society, powered alcohol. We have enough problems with the liquid kind," Chris Johnson, Colorado's executive director of the County Sheriffs, said.

Earlier in 2015, US senator for New York Charles Schumer feared the powder, available in a range of flavours and with 12% to 60% of alcohol in volume, would fuel teen binge drinking. Lipsmark, which owns Palcohol, said half a cup of the substance was equivalent to one drink.

A statement from Lipsmark said: "Finally it is now legal to be sold in the United States. We will be working on getting the production facility up and running. It will take a while but hopefully it will be available this summer."

Powdered alcohol has previously been on sale in countries such as Germany and Japan.