Oct 12, 2014
Powdered alcohol was the hot new thing on the internet for about a week before it suddenly vanished. The FDA rescinded its approval for Palcohol—a commercially available product that brought powdered alcohol into the limelight amidst a sea of disapproval from parents, community leaders, government officials, and just about everyone else under the sun. There is a very good reason for that: powdered alcohol really sucks.
For practicing alcoholics thinking this is going to be the cool new way to get drunk, it is not. Palcohol stated in some of their marketing materials that sometimes liquid alcohol is not always appropriate for a certain setting. Fair enough. However, when has a mysterious white powder ever been more acceptable in the same environment?
Not only that, but since Palcohol is no longer being approved, those who want to try powdered alcohol have a much more complex (and dangerous, but we will get there in a bit) process than just pouring a glass of booze. No, this stuff has to be manufactured from already-liquid alcohol.
Because alcohol is a drug, proper dosage is necessary. If improper consumption of alcohol occurs, it can lead to dehydration, headaches, nausea, vomiting, and death.
When liquid-alcohol is converted into powdered alcohol, the standard procedure for measuring how much alcohol is being consumed goes right out the window. For alcoholics who are trying to find that ever-elusive fine line where one can be acceptably trashed, using powdered alcohol makes finding that already-impossible-to-find line even more unlikely. With people who naturally overshoot and overestimate our abilities to process chemicals, this is somehow an even more incredibly dangerous method of getting hammered.
So what does an alcoholic do if/when he or she overshoots that mark? Nothing. There is not a lot one can do, especially when alone.
According to this article, powdered alcohol does not have the gradual, relatively slow onset that traditional alcohol has. That might not sound important at first, until we realize that alcoholics would have to know exactly how much to consume right then and there. As a recovering alcoholic, I know my first inclination in such a situation would be to do more “just incase it actually wasn’t enough.” I know I am not alone.
Alcohol is one of the most toxic substances known to man. The reason we have to urinate so frequently when we drink is because our liver is working overtime to flush out the literal poison we just ingested. Feeling drunk is the poison our livers were too overburdened to process. Keep that in mind.
Snorting powdered alcohol sounds like it might be a cool novelty for practicing alcoholics. It is not. Because alcohol is naturally a liquid that evaporates, artificial means have to be used to convert the liquid into a solid powder.
Now, imagine ingesting that same agent that turns liquid alcohol—a substance that already causes dehydration—going up someone’s nose, making contact with the thinner-than-paper membranes. It should not be much of a shock that the writer in the aforementioned article woke up with blood caked all over his face in the morning. This was, of course, after he describes the immediate sensation as having his nose glued up.
Even when ingesting powdered alcohol orally, the same concept comes into play. People already go to the emergency room frequently due to dehydration from alcohol. Now, remember that alcohol is one of the most toxic substances, and consider what happens when there is even less liquid to dilute the chemical wreaking havoc on the body.
Powdered alcohol is a really, exceptionally bad idea for alcoholics who are still in their disease. If someone has to go to these lengths for their drinking, and for the risks being so great, it should be a dead giveaway that life has become unmanageable. There are other ways of living, though. Give us a call, and we’ll be happy to talk to you about them.
What do you think about powdered alcohol? Let us know in the comments below!
(855) 449-4490
