ABC stores: north carolina's black eye

North Carolina regulates hard liquor, or as they call it: "spiritous distillations". The way they do this is by running ABC(alcohol board of control) stores, and making illegal all private selling of spiritous distillations.

I wouldn't be too surprised if this was the way of life in Uzbekistan or California, but this is North Carolina we're talking about. One of the only states that has refused to give into the anti-gun, and anti-cigarette, and other anti-fun campaigns. The cultural attitude here is to be suspicious of all government interference and fight new taxes as if they funded murder(oh wait, they do).

Which leaves me asking why alcohol is the particular "neat thing" that they've decided to hate on. I can only assume it is a regional, appalachia-esque vibe of "my granddaddy used to drink, and then he ran over my cousin with the tractor for calling him a fat ass". The ABC's express purpose, as expressed by them, is to "regulate the sale of -insert antiquated term for hooch-".

Regulate how? It's not as if they insert a chip into drunk drivers, violent people, and native americans that sounds a warning alarm whenever they enter the store. They don't regulate out of any public safety concern, which would be their only(still ridiculous) reason to. They "regulate" only to be the only stores and charge whatever they like(average 1-5 dollars more than prices in MD).

What's sad is that people who've lived here all their life respond to the idea of privately owned liquor stores as if they were a fairy tale; some far away, distant utopia. They are unaware that their state only has this reidiculous system because of prohibition. The local laws stood up after prohibition ended, and lawmakers piggy-backed a ridiculous cultural stigma of alcohol in order to make sure the state solely profits from it's sale.

NC is known for it's low taxes, only if one ignores the $300 speeding tickets, and the extra few dollars it makes on every handle of bottom-shelf booze straight out of drinkers pockets. Don't believe the hype.



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