State control limits underage drinking, funds government
I have been with the Liquor Control Board for 11 years as an assistant manager in a retail outlet on the Kitsap Peninsula. The article by Jimmie James and Zack Hudgins was excellent and pointed out so many positive things about liquor control [“State liquor stores protect the public,” Opinion, Feb. 26].
We are trained thoroughly to not only not sell to minors, but to visually watch autos that park in our store parking lot that contain possible minors who will send one person in to make a purchase for them. Everyone must come in and show their ID. We are very strict about upholding the law to not sell to underage kids and we take pride in doing an excellent job.
I recently returned from a trip to California and they were amazed we did not pay for our first response and EMT calls. They are funded partially from liquor-sales profits and initiatives voted in by our citizens to allocate adequate funding for those who protect and serve us. Our state-controlled liquor sales contribute funding for our state government and at the same time protect our citizens by reducing alcohol sales that could potentially cause injury and death to the citizens of this great state.
— Lana Ohara, Bremerton
Privatizing sales lowers price, increases choice
One has to wonder why The Times wastes ink on stuff like the babbling of the penners of last Friday’s special to the times spelling out the logical reasons why people will drink more if state-operated liquor stores are allowed to become private enterprises. Anyone with an IQ better than his or her belt size knows that logic has nothing to do with human behavior. I have lived in states where liquor is both sold in state stores and private ones and the whole op-ed is nonsense.
The only real differences are that liquor costs more here than in private-enterprise states and the selection of high-end products is poorer. The higher prices do nothing to curtail drinking, they only impose greater hardships on the families of excessive drinkers.
Believe this if nothing else: Minors will always get as much liquor as they want even if you sell the stuff only out of a bank vault.
The real topper was the statement that liquor control has been around since prohibition; now there was a smashing success. As far as crime goes, crime actually comes with prohibition.
— Harold R. Pettus, Everett