Greenwald: Modernize Liquor Laws

Politics Patrol
By Bob Ingle
April 21, 2010

Most states I’ve lived in or visit make it easy to plan the entire meal. You pick out what you want to eat and then a wine or beer to go with it. Not New Jersey, where the liquor laws are from the Stone Age. Some groceries are modern like in other states but they are few and far between. Assemblyman Lou Greenwald wants to change that. He has introduced legislation to modernize the state’s liquor laws. It would gradually expand the sale of beer, wine and other alcoholic beverages in groceries that want to be full service. Greenwald says the current cap on grocers is “unnecessary, unfair and overly restrictive” and on that he is right. The people who want to keep the current system because it benefits them will trot out the old arguments about selling alcohol in groceries will make it easier for kids to get it. The states that are operating in the 21st Century — even North Carolina that has state-run alcohol beverage stores — have wine and beer in the groceries and no one thinks it causes a problem. The independent wine shops and liquor stores usually have a wider variety of brands and types and if that’s what you prefer, you will have that option.