![]() ![]() I’m not willing to put a bet on any of this happening any time soon. There are lots of options if we’re smart about it. You want to limit the alcohol content so grocers aren’t selling fortified wine? Fine. Sales could be limited to just grocery stores and not convenience stores. Laws can be written to require the products to be sold in a room or aisle where children aren’t allowed, if that’s deemed necessary. We can’t damage the state’s $500 million cash cow. They can figure out an appropriate amount of tax on the products, so the state will still get some money from it, despite not having the overhead of stocking it in state-run stores. The state can still maintain control of what products are sold. Just to be clear, I’m not suggesting that the state not regulate wine sales, just change where it’s allowed to be sold. When you drill down on it, the primary fears that are always cited by opponents of liberalizing Utah’s liquor laws - that kids will drink more and drunk driving will increase - are not borne out in any way by the data. And logically, the people who are problem drinkers are unlikely to opt for a nice 2015 cabernet sauvignon when cheaper, more potent options are available. The number of arrests for public intoxication have also steadily gone down, among both youth and adults. In the last decade, Utah has seen more DUI enforcement and decreasing arrests (except for an odd increase in 2020, despite Covid) - an indicator that the fewer people are actually drinking and driving, Ed Ho, a researcher who compiles Utah’s data, told legislators in June. ![]() That’s because, the report shows, the compliance rate for stores when it comes to not selling to youth is over 93%, the highest in at least 13 years. They do not buy it themselves at a store. When kids do drink, they typically get it at a party, from a parent or family member or a friend over 21. ![]() Just the opposite.Īnnual data from the Utah Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health shows that the percentage of kids who report having had alcohol in their lifetime is 40% lower than in 2009 and portion of kids who have had alcohol in the past 30 days has fallen by half in that span. What we haven’t seen is an increase in youth consumption. We’ve also, in that time, seen more avenues for advertising alcohol products, and have a wider array of products available in the form of things like seltzers and hard lemonades. We’ve done away with the private club membership requirement, allowed for stronger pours in bars and restaurants, done away with the so-called Zion Curtain intended to shield young eyes from drinks being poured, allowed for stronger beer to be sold in grocery stores. Since 2009, Utah has gradually - very gradually - liberalized its liquor laws. The pushback, of course, will come from those doom-and-gloomers who trot out the same well-worn - and often effective - arguments whenever we discuss making Utah’s alcohol policy slightly less restrictive: “Think of the children! Think of the carnage on our roads!” It’s been a while, but several years ago a poll found that nearly 7 out of 10 Utahns believed that the state’s liquor laws hindered economic development and tourism. We’re not freakish, but we are in the minority. Right now more than 30 states allow wine in grocery stores. If you’ve talked to tourists visiting Utah or people who have just moved here, the complaint you hear most often about Utah’s liquor laws is frustration at not being able to get wine in grocery stores. (Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Robert Gehrke.Īnd there could be some measure of economic benefit from loosening the law. ![]()
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