Thanks to the work of the Bill of Rights Institute and the support of the Center for Alcohol Policy, educators across the country now have access to a comprehensive “Toast the Constitution!” lesson plan to teach students about the rise and fall of national Prohibition. Developed in partnership with the National Constitution Center’s American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition exhibit, the lesson plan teaches students about the origins of the 18^th Amendment, the individuals and groups who fought for and against Prohibition, and the events that led to its eventual repeal with the passage of the 21^st Amendment. Read more…

This April, the Center for Alcohol Policy joins organizations across the country in recognizing Alcohol Awareness Month, a nationwide campaign to raise awareness of the problems that alcohol abuse can cause for individuals, their families and their communities. “Alcohol Awareness Month is a great opportunity to educate policymakers, regulators and the public about alcohol, its uniqueness and its regulation – which aligns perfectly with the mission of the Center for Alcohol Policy,” said Jim Hall, former chair of the National Transportation Safety Board and current member of the CAP Advisory Council. Learn more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP) is pleased to announce that Joseph H. L. Perez-Montes, an attorney from Pineville, Louisiana, is the winner of its Fifth Annual Essay Contest.  The CAP national essay contest is intended to foster debate, analysis and examination of state alcohol regulation. The topic of the 2012 contest was: “If a country were starting alcohol regulation from scratch, what regulatory framework would you advise it to create and why?”  Perez-Montes’ essay states, “Realistically, any framework governing the production, sale, and consumption of alcohol must be multi-faceted.  No single regulatory approach could adequately address all of the positive or ill effects of alcohol consumption.”  Read more…

Former Michigan Liquor Control Commissioner and former Michigan House of Representatives Floor Leader Pat Gagliardi has authored a new report, “The Need for State Alcohol Regulatory Funding: Fighting Deregulation by Defunding,” made possible by a grant from the Center for Alcohol Policy. “The fervor to cut budgets and anti-regulatory sentiment can lead to ill-considered changes in alcohol policy,” the report notes.  “There is a real danger that state alcohol control will be reduced to the point of ineffectiveness by overburdening the regulatory system that, to date, has been successful and has enjoyed overwhelming public support.” Learn more…

Americans want to keep in place state and local alcohol regulations to keep them safe, according to a new bipartisan national poll conducted for the Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP). “Americans overwhelmingly agree that alcohol is a unique product that is not like other consumer goods, which is why they believe it needs to be treated differently,” said Patrick Lynch, former Rhode Island Attorney General, former president of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and current member of the CAP Advisory Council. Read more…