Agriculture
Alcohol Policy
Introduction North Carolina was once the nation’s leader in wine production and distilleries, legal industries killed off by state prohibition in 1908. In 1937, in response to the end of…
North Carolina Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission
Regulation
North Carolina’s Outdated Alcohol Restrictions
A few years ago I charted several ways in which the state was more restrictive against alcohol production, distribution, and sales than other states. The good news is that the…
Regulation
Expand Our Freedoms to Imbibe
This morning the North Carolina Senate Committee on Commerce and Insurance will hear a bill that would expand some freedoms for the otherwise shackled, state-run, and happy hour-less, liquor industry.…
Research Brief
Budget, Taxation & Economy
North Carolina Needs to Free Its Distilleries and Other Alcoholic Beverage Enterprises
North Carolina's ABC system is convoluted, but the state makes it worse with its own unique set of restrictions limiting homegrown alcohol businesses. Legislation this year would relax some restrictions…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
Lines At ABC Stores Unveil Weakness In NC’s ABC System
The Coronavirus has many people rushing to grocery stores and other establishments and stocking up for what could be weeks or even months of quarantine. One of the establishments getting…
Regulation
Lift ABC rules against to-go cups to help restaurants and bars hurt by Cooper’s edict
People are going to miss a good mixed drink, and some establishments have their own signature drinks. Others may serve local beers on tap that aren't available in take-home containers.…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
The wild card in modernizing liquor sales in NC
How do we get around artificial problems created by a needlessly complex state/local government hybrid system set up to control alcohol sales that, after the fact, became attractive to state…
Budget, Taxation & Economy
CJ Commentary: N.C. sells liquor through 170 independent, political boards: What could go wrong?
On Friday, Carolina Journal’s John Trump published an opinion piece on North Carolina’s government-run liquor business. Trump explains Rep. Chuck McGrady, R-Henderson, has sponsored legislation in the General Assembly that…
Law & Public Safety
CJ Commentary: Helping craft distillers could have positive effect on how others view N.C.
North Carolina is beautifully unique, encapsulated by stunning mountain views in the west to a sprawling coastline in the east. In his most recent commentary, Carolina Journal editor John Trump…
Regulation
There IS a bill to modernize and adopt a license system for liquor in NC
In two reports this year, the John Locke Foundation has made the case for modernizing and adopting a license model for liquor sales in North Carolina. That's the kind of…
Regulation
Carolina Journal update on distillery freedom bill
The bill would make several reforms freeing up North Carolina distilleries from burdensome restrictions — restrictions that aren't faced by their peers in many other states.
Regulation
Answering questions on a new way forward in alcohol policy
North Carolina's Alcoholic Beverage Control system is extremely bureaucratic and highly regulated. My new report discusses the ramifications of this state government control over a legal product and considers an…