New York is the latest buzzkill state to ban powdered alcohol

New Yorkers will never know the joys of legally consuming powdered alcohol, thanks to legislation barring sale of “palcohol” signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo last week.

“This dangerous product is a public health disaster waiting to happen,” the governor said in a statement, adding, “I am proud to sign this legislation that will keep powdered alcohol off the shelves and out of the wrong hands.” We’re pouring one out for you, palcohol, or doing whatever one does to a powdered intoxicator.

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau okayed packaging of the product back in March, but states have been fighting against it on their own. So far, at least 21 states are barring palcohol sales.

New York Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz introduced the bill in March, warning that “kids can just stash Palcohol in their pocket like it’s Kool-Aid powder and no one will ever be the wiser, including their parents.”

Palcohol, owned by Lipsmark LLC, is the brain child of “a guy named Mark Phillips,” according to the Palcohol website. Phillips wants powdered alcohol so he can have a cocktail on the go:

Mark is an active guy…hiking, biking, camping, kayaking, etc. After hours of an activity, he sometimes wanted to relax and enjoy a refreshing adult beverage. But those activities, and many others, don’t lend themselves to lugging heavy bottles of wine, beer or spirits. The only liquid he wanted to carry was water. So he thought? Wouldn’t it be great to have alcohol in powder form so all one had to do is add water?

But an earlier version of the website, according to Fortune, apparently suggested Palcohol as a way to sneak alcohol into places that ban alcohol—something that Cymbrowitz pointed to as another reason to make it illegal.

If Palcohol doesn’t get off the ground in the states, we recommend Phillips send it over to the U.K., where drinkers are already vaping alcohol. Or to space, where we bet powdered alcohol would be a hit.

Danielle Wiener-Bronner is a news reporter.