Not So Fast Liquor Board Move Stirs Uproar - And Second Thoughts
Four months ago, Michael Burke knew little about ginseng , the rooty herb whose medicinal use goes back to ancient China. But that was before Burke, the supervising agent for the Washington State Liquor Control Board, tried to implement a statewide ban on alcoholic ginseng extracts.
Now, he knows more about the popular bittersweet root than he ever wanted to. Some members of the Asian American community may never let him forget.
Trying to solve a problem that apparently doesn't exist here - abuse of the product by teenagers - the liquor board unintentionally ventured into a culturally sensitive area Burke now says it should have investigated first.
"This has turned into a nightmare," said Burke, who is overseeing the ginseng enforcement issue for the board in Olympia. "The scope of this is so much bigger than I first imagined."
The controversy erupted after the agency, which regulates the sale, distribution and consumption of alcohol in the state, decided in December to ban all alcoholic ginseng extract, commonly sold at retail outlets such as gas stations, convenience stores, health food stores and herbalists.
The board's decision followed a similar move by several East Coast states where some teenagers last year fell asleep in class while others suffered chest pains after drinking ginseng extract that contained alcohol.
The outright ban, however, prompted an angry reaction from Asian American retailers, who said it deprived them and their customers of an ancient health tradition that isn't abused by minors in this state.
"Ginseng is a health supplement that we grow up with," said Richard Chang, an ethnic Chinese immigrant from Vietnam who owns the Korea Ginseng Center in the International District with his wife, Lynn. "We should have the right to consume our product from generation to generation."
Ginseng, believed to cure everything from the common cold to failing memory and impotence, comes in a variety of products, including tea, cappsulles, tonics, shampoos, soft drinks and even chewing gum.
Liquid extracts are among its more popular forms because the alcohol used to draw and preserve the root's essence also allows for immediate absorption into the bloodstream, experts say.
"From ancient times, everybody knows ginseng gives longevity and vitality," said Sung Bo Chung.
Chung is director of the Korean Trade Center in Bellevue, the commercial branch of the South Korean consulate in Seattle.
"The vials (of liquid extract) are also popular because they are convenient for people who don't have time to brew tea," he said.
Although native to China and Korea, and used traditionally by Asian immigrants in this country, cheaper varieties of ginseng extract have become popular among American consumers in recent years and are accessible to minors in gas stations and convenience stores in the form of 99-cent 1-ounce vials.
Federal officials fear at least some of ginseng 's popularity stems from its alcoholic content, which often does not appear on the extracts' labels or packaging.
Late last year, they warned states about the alcohol's potential adverse effects on people with medical problems, and its potential abuse by minors. The warning prompted the state to implement the ban.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms recently tested 55 different brands of liquid ginseng , some of which contained as much as 34 percent alcohol by volume. Only seven did not contain alcohol. Unlike alcohol, which is a depressant, ginseng is a stimulant.
Herbalists, however, said it would be hard for minors to get past ginseng 's bitterness. They suggested if kids want to abuse alcohol, over-the-counter medicines like government-approved cough syrup or illegally obtained liquors would be easier and less expensive.
Asian American retailers said they don't sell ginseng to minors and even require a prescription from a Chinese-medicine specialist for some ginseng products. Liquor board offficials conf
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step on the toes of Asian immigrants and retailers, many of whom were visited by the board's enforcement agents earlier this year and were told to remove numerous ginseng extracts from their shelves.
But the agents found more products and criticism than they expected. And their actions caused confusion among store owners.
What, for instance, was a retailer to do with a properly labeled ginseng product approved as a dietary supplement by the Food and Drug Administration?
"At first, the retailers and distributors were upset and confused about it," said Joseph Kwon, a reporter for the Korea Times in Seattle. "There were many questions."
Kwon estimated there are about 600 Korean-owned grocery and convenience stores in the Puget Sound area, most of which sell ginseng in one form or another.
Some retailers said the agents were at best ill-informed about ginseng and its traditional use among Asian Americans.
State authorities created some resentment by not doing their research before seeking an all-out ban, said Chang, whose Korea Ginseng Center depends for a quarter of its sales on retail and wholesale of ginseng . "What upset me is that they did this without having the education," he said. "I thought it was unfair."
Burke blames the confusion on his own lack of knowledge about ginseng and on a number of ambitious agents who took their mandate further than he had intended.
"Some agents took the initiative to find the ginseng at specialized stores," he said. `But we're really focusing on convenience stores (and gas stations), where the products seem to serve no legitimate purpose.
"We wanted to be pro-active to prevent abuse. But we don't want to put health food stores out of business."
The State Liquor Control Board's Web site is www.wa.gov/liq. Or call 360-664-4057.
P-I reporter Imbert Matthee can be reached at 206-448-8336 or imbertmatthee@seattle-pi.com
- BY : Imbert Matthee P-I
- SOURCE : Post-IIntelligencer1998.04.13
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