Published: The Roanoke Times
April 7, 2024 The 1980s called. They want their alcohol policy back. Dan Casey’s opinion piece [“Legal cocktails-to-go: Freedom or just dumb?” March 26] ignores the most recent research on alcohol laws and regulations completely. This is especially true when it comes to Virginia alcohol law, and more importantly, the recently adopted cocktails to-go law. The R Street Institute, where I work, is one of the only nonpartisan think tanks in the country that analyzes alcohol laws and regulations. I am confident that our work is more current and relevant than the sources Dan Casey cites. The piece points out the many states — 26 states and the District of Columbia — that have made cocktails to-go permanent. That is where most of the facts related to this issue ends, and the conjecture begins. Mr. Casey points out that Maryland is notably absent from the list of states that have made cocktails to-go permanent because the state allowed its pandemic era law to expire because of “drive-thru bars” in a 1980s rural county. The only facts he references are from a 1984 Washington Post article related to drinking and driving rates. A lot has changed in 40 years, including the passage of the Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which pushed states to raise the legal drinking age to 21. He conveniently overlooks the Virginia Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority (VABC) report last year to the General Assembly which found compliance related underage drinking laws for restaurants was similar to that of VABC brick-and-mortar stores. In fact, the R Street Institute has found that almost every state that permitted delivery and to-go alcohol during COVID-19 witnessed a decrease in underage drinking. Likewise, states that allowed alcohol delivery saw their overall drinking rates rise less than those that prohibited delivery. In terms of drunk driving, states that allowed alcohol delivery experienced lower increases in drunk driving deaths during the pandemic — which intuitively makes sense, given that home-delivery of alcohol allows consumers to avoid driving back from the bar after numerous drinks. In the future, Mr. Casey may want to use more precise data than a Reagan-era Washington Post article on Maryland when discussing 21st century alcohol laws in Virginia. Robert Melvin, Richmond RADIO IQ | By Michael Pope
Published April 1, 2024 at 5:00 AM EDT Governor Glenn Youngkin is putting his signature on a bill legalizing cocktails to go. The idea emerged during the pandemic – customers could help their favorite restaurants stay in business by ordering a margarita or an old fashioned as a takeout item. Now, the governor is agreeing with lawmakers, allowing the temporary fix to become a permanent solution for restaurants. "In Virginia's restaurants, we really have fostered a culture of mixology and experimentation and sort of high-level bartending," says Tommy Herbert at the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association. "And I would recommend for all of the listeners to try something new from one of our great restaurants here in the Commonwealth. You might be very impressed with the mixology skills that you encounter." The bill, which will become a new law this summer, allows restaurants to sell cocktails to go, although the jury is still out on third-party vendors like DoorDash and Uber Eats. Here's Delegate Holly Seibold, a Democrat from Vienna. "So, I keep hearing that we’re working to become compliant, but what is the plan? Because I just have a hard time visualizing that we can regulate a delivery service of alcohol," Seibold says. The new law will allow DoorDash and Uber Eats to deliver cocktails for two years, although lawmakers say if there are problems, they're willing to pull the plug for third-party vendors. This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, |
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