
California lifts restrictions allowing restaurants to sell alcohol to-go - MilnerRoute
https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/california-lifts-restrictions-allowing-restaurants-to-sell-alcohol-to-go/
======
sneak
[https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/coronavirus-
tsa-...](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/03/coronavirus-tsa-liquid-
purell-paid-leave-rules.html)

A lot of things that we took as immutable facts of life in the US are actually
arbitrary and unnecessary restrictions on free movement or trade that are
designed to force you to pay for things unnecessarily or destroy free markets
and unfairly protect incumbents/institutions.

Example: I’m low on contact lenses. Without being able to see, I can’t work.

In the US, contact lenses are for sale by prescription only(!). I had my
office ship a few boxes I had left over in Germany, as it is both impossible
to go to Germany as well as impossible to safely visit the local office in the
US to which one must pay $150 to get the piece of paper to be allowed to
purchase what is an uncontrolled item in almost every other country in the
world.

FedEx has blocked the shipment, demanding a prescription, which does not
exist.

Who is this benefitting? Who is being protected from which harms by these
laws?

I don’t even drink alcohol and I think that liquor sales licensing is insane,
especially when coupled with the OUTRAGEOUS list of additional restrictions
they are allowed to place on businesses just because they serve alcohol some
of the time (the restrictions the state gets to apply to the biz are 24/7).
jwz’s extensive documentation on the CA ABC’s tyranny is an especially good
example.

~~~
spicymaki
You are benefiting!

Yes, contact lenses are medical devices that needs to be regulated. Imagine if
you bought contacts from Amazon, received a counterfeit batch, and it wrecked
your vision? Who could you even sue?

These laws protect you the consumer. I am sorry you are inconvenienced.

Alcohol abuse is the third largest preventable cause of death in the US and
the death rate has doubled in the last 20 years. Kills on average 88,000
people per year in the US. Liquor licensing is one of the few tools we have to
protect us.

We need to sober up.

~~~
sneak
> _Imagine if you bought contacts from Amazon, received a counterfeit batch,
> and it wrecked your vision? Who could you even sue?_

The same entity I would sue if I was damaged by any other product that was
unfit for purpose: the dealer and/or manufacturer who sold the faulty goods.

Your argument doesn't really hold up with that example.

Alcohol abuse, drunk driving aside, doesn't directly physically harm anyone
who doesn't fully consent to the effects of alcohol in their body. You're fine
to believe that people shouldn't drink, or shouldn't drink as much as they do:
I even agree with you.

You're not fine to think that people should use the threat of violence
(police/regulation enforcement) against people who would peacefully sell
alcohol to consenting adults who wish to buy it.

------
leetrout
Good. Anecdata was that more than a few had already been doing this in lock
down locations.

------
chrismcb
I never understood the reasoning behind not allowing togo alcohol from a far
food place. I can always walk next door to the convenience store and buy a
can. So why can't the restaurant sell it?

~~~
spicymaki
Restaurants are supposed to monitor patrons level of alcohol consumption.
Otherwise they can be held liable for damages resulting in accidents related
to DUIs or can potentially lose their liquor license. Alcohol to go totally
breaks that system. They also can’t monitor who gets the alcohol (are they of
legal age? over the legal limit? etc.)

Most areas in the US ban public consumption if alcohol. The bottles cannot
even be displayed in the open. Putting alcohol in an unmarked to go container
would circumvent the law as well.

------
egberts1
But must order food with the booze to go.

~~~
ultrarunner
Is there any official stated reasoning for this? At least some feign that it
makes the sale safer in some way?

~~~
smelendez
It boosts the price to make it more likely that hardcore drinkers will go
elsewhere, protecting people who want restaurants but not liquor stores in
their neighborhoods.

Also, in this case, bars are closed including for to go orders but restaurants
are allowed to sell to go, so that people will not hang out in or around bars
and spread the virus. Drinkers are less likely to hang out around restaurants
buying beer all day to sneak around the corner if each beer comes with a
California-priced sandwich.

~~~
egberts1
In the state of Maryland, you can order booze to your doorstep. So that’s not
much of a problem here. I wonder why California is so far behind; must be
those restaurant lobbyists, or something.

