This Constitution Day, celebrated annually on Sept. 17, the Center for Alcohol Policy is highlighting its educational resources that explain the 21^st Amendment’s role in establishing America’s state-based regulatory system. The Center for Alcohol Policy video The Origins of America’s State-Based Regulatory System illustrates the origin of today’s alcohol regulatory system, which works to balance alcohol control with an orderly and competitive marketplace.

Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy announced that Kathie Durbin, chief of licensure, regulation and education at the Montgomery County, Maryland, Department of Liquor Control, is the recipient of the Fifth Annual Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award. The award, which recognizes a specific program, agency or person who oversees the alcohol industry and promotes public safety, was presented by the Center’s Advisory Council at the 10^th Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference, in Chicago, Illinois, last week.

Read more…

According to a recently released national poll commissioned by the Center for Alcohol Policy, four-in-five Americans support individual states’ ability to regulate alcohol. The poll results also show that 93% of respondents believes drunk driving problems remain an extremely or very serious problem, a number surpassing concerns about opioid abuse which has dominated the nation’s headlines recently. Binge drinking and underage drinking are seen as  extremely to very serious problems, as well, at 78% and 73% respectively.

Read more…

Recent news reports indicate that several tourists and families travelling to all-inclusive resorts in Mexico suspect they were given tainted alcohol, which in some cases resulted in death. The reports underscore a stark contrast between alcohol regulation in Mexico and the United States, where state-based alcohol regulation and a three-tiered system of distribution provides a clear chain of custody and guards against tainted alcohol products reaching consumers.

A report by former Chief Counsel for the United States Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau Robert M. Tobiassen, “The ‘Fake Alcohol’ Situation in the United States: The Impact of Culture, Market Economics, and the Current Regulatory Systems,” explains why there are few incidents of fake alcohol products in the United States. The study describes “strong regulatory systems that police the production, importation, distribution and retail sales of alcohol beverages through independent parties” and the country’s “competitive marketplace that provides alcohol beverages at all price points.”

Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy has unveiled a new video highlighting discussion and debate during the Pennsylvania Alcohol Policy Forum, held on March 22. The event, which took place in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, brought together more than 70 alcohol regulators, state lawmakers, legislative staff, public health representatives and industry members.

Read more…

A new report released by the Center for Alcohol Policy examines the history and purpose of tied-house prohibitions found in federal and state alcohol laws and explains how these prohibitions are as relevant today as when enacted following the repeal of Prohibition.

The report, “The Dangers of Common Ownership in an Uncommon Industry: Alcohol Policy in America and the Timeless Relevance of Tied-House Restrictions,” was authored by former executive counsel for the Louisiana Office of Alcohol and Tobacco Control and alcohol law attorney Jessica C. Starns.

Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy announced that Anna Brawley, a senior associate at Agnew::Beck Consulting, is the winner of its Ninth Annual Essay Contest. The national essay contest is intended to foster debate, analysis and examination of state alcohol regulation.

Brawley’s winning essay, “Deconstructing the Drink Menu: A History of Alcoholic Beverages and Proposed Policy Framework,” outlines what is and should be considered when developing sound alcohol beverage control policies.

Read more…

This Constitution Day, celebrated annually on September 17, the Center for Alcohol Policy is highlighting its educational resources that explain the 21^st Amendment’s role in establishing America’s state-based regulatory system.

The Center for Alcohol Policy video The Origins of America’s State-Based Regulatory System illustrates the origin of today’s alcohol regulatory system, which works to balance alcohol control with an orderly and competitive marketplace.

The video describes the Center’s republication of the book Toward Liquor Control, which outlined how states should regulate the sale and serving of alcohol following the repeal of Prohibition, and how the book is still helping shape policy today.

Read more…

Enforcement of alcohol regulations and policies was a recurring theme during the Center for Alcohol Policy’s Ninth Annual Law and Policy Conference held at the Renaissance Dallas Hotel August 28 – 30 in Dallas, Texas. The conference brought together a diverse group of state and federal alcohol regulators, law enforcement, legislators, public health advocates and alcohol beverage industry representatives to review trends in the field of alcohol regulation and learn from best practices around the country.

Jim Hall, Center for Alcohol Policy advisor and former National Transportation Safety Board chairman, welcomed attendees and summarized the objectives of the conference saying, “Look around the room. There are regulators, legislators, federal health officials, public health interest groups, trade groups, law enforcement and industry members. We may not always agree on policy, but the fact that we are all under one roof having a civil debate is an accomplishment not only for the Center for Alcohol Policy but also for your leadership in your respective fields.”

Read more…

The Center for Alcohol Policy presented Sherry Cook, executive director of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), with the Fourth Annual Leadership in Alcohol Regulation Award. The award, which recognizes a specific program, agency or person who oversees the alcohol industry and promotes public safety, was presented by the Center’s Advisory Council at the Ninth Annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference in Dallas, Texas.

“The Center for Alcohol Policy appreciates that alcohol regulators are the front lines of many initiatives in the states aimed at keeping the alcohol industry properly regulated, promoting public health and safety and supporting a competitive business marketplace,” said Jerry Oliver, a Center Advisory Council member who has served as alcohol regulator in Arizona and as police chief in Pasadena, Richmond and Detroit. “This award highlights effective best practices that may serve as examples to alcohol regulators in other states.”

Read more…