General: continuation of the OLCC

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- CommentAuthorswizzlestick
- CommentTimeJun 29th 2009
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The OLCC has to be dismantled. What is their purpose? The larger picture of responsible alcohol service is getting lost in the trivialities of power-tripping OLCC inspectors. The State of Oregon makes a lot of money from the OLCC and that is the only reason there is an OLCC, however - the state could still make plenty without the expense of the OLCC with taxation of alcohol. The OLCC is not significantly helping to curb drunk driving rates, drunk driving rates are similar to other states in the country. I come from Colorado, which is not a control state (in fact there is liquor store on pretty much every corner), and drunk driving deaths per capita are actually lower in Colorado with 207 deaths with a population of 4,979,456 (.0000419%) and Oregon with 177 deaths with a population of 3,790,060 (.0000467%).

They are not significantly stopping underage drinking either. In a recent study about what helps curtail underage drinking and death it showed that State laws that prohibit people under the age of 21 from purchasing or possessing alcohol, and from driving with any alcohol in their system save 732 lives a year in the United States. This study examined 23 years of research on the subject. The study further shows that if every state adopted 'use and lose' laws—suspending the license of anyone under 21 cited for possession, consumption or attempt to purchase alcohol—an additional 165 lives would be saved. Researchers analyzed data from 1982 through to 2004, using the Alcohol Policy Information System (1998-2005); the Digests of State Alcohol-Highway Safety Related Legislation (1983-2006); the Westlaw database; and the Fatality Analysis Reporting System data set (1982-2004). They looked at six key underage drinking laws and four general impaired-driving and traffic safety laws, and found the most significant impact came from four underage laws. This study shows that it is not because a state is a control state that it helps curb underage drinking, but rather the implementation of four basic laws. This legislation can be put in place without the OLCC.

The OLCC is an archaic awful way of running the way that a state sells liquor. The OLCC is not concerned with the greater good of society but rather trivialities and the finest of the fine print to flex their egotistical stronghold over what they have unfortunately proven is their domain. Should the citizenry have certain expectations of responsible alcohol service from restaurants and bars? Of course they should, but that responsibility needs to be put back into the hands of the people through legislation. The law books need to be cleared of these old and usually ridiculous laws. Ninety-eight percent of people don’t care if they read an ad with the words happy hour in it, most would be excited to know where happy hour is. The OLCC isn’t decreasing irresponsible drinking by ensuring that no one ever says happy hour, drink special, or ladies night again. They are only tooting their own horn to show us that we are living in a very scary police state where we have no control and they can destroy you with lies, hearsay, and speculation. We need to band together and finally put an end to the OLCC.

1. http://www.alcoholalert.com/drunk-driving-statistics-2006.html

2. http://www.sciencecodex.com/underage_drinking_laws_reduce_fatal_

accident_saving_732_lives_per_year

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Oregon Bartenders Guild

General: continuation of the OLCC