In previous posts here and in my last research brief I’ve highlighted a research finding that might seem wrong at first glance. Namely, that alcohol-based social and public-health problems don’t depend upon whether the government distributes and sells liquor instead of private enterprises.
Today, I’d like to point out why that makes sense.
- Alcohol-based social and public-health problems stem are not specific to one form of alcoholic beverage (i.e., liquor).
- North Carolinians have on-premise as well as off-premise drinking access to beer, wine, and liquor-by-the-drink.
- They have this drinking access at an enormously wide range of private ventures: taverns, bars, restaurants, grocery stores, convenience stores, specialty shops, even pharmacies and other places.
- They have this wide range of access almost all the time, all week long (even on Sundays), up till 2 a.m.
- For consumers, what the government controls under the ABC system is the purchase of bottles of liquor
- Those bottles are for off-premise consumption
- Those ABC stores are kept strictly limited (a government monopoly wants monopoly prices to maximize revenue)
- Those ABC stores are open only Mondays–Saturdays, and only till 9 p.m.
Considering all that, you can see why it is highly unlikely this limited subset of alcohol beverage retail sales in the state is the linchpin holding much worse alcohol-based social and public-health problems at bay.
