The liquor distributors won again. For at least until next year, Maryland consumers must buy wine from a few select distributors instead of from the producer of their choice.
Bills to allow consumers to order wine over the Internet from wineries and other merchants failed to make it out of committee in both the state House and the Senate this session. So for one more year, Maryland will continue to lose tax receipts as consumers flout the law by purchasing wine out of state and smuggling it in, and restaurant patrons will choose from a stunted wine listchosen by companies who worry less about your palate than facing competition. Those who choose to purchase wine in Maryland will also pay more for the privilege, as limited competition means higher prices for consumers.
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The liquor lobby says opening up the wine market ? as about 38 other states have chosen to do ? would hurt Maryland wineries, cut distribution jobs and make it easier for children to purchase alcohol. First, Maryland?s wineries welcome the reform so that they can ship wine directly to their customers instead of being forced to sell through a distributor such as Reliable Churchill ? which automatically forces prices up. Second, why should liquor distributors receive a special dispensation from state government to protect their jobs? Did steelworkers get the same pass? Autoworkers? Third, many safeguards exist to prevent minors from ordering alcohol, including requiring an adult signature to receive a shipment. Besides, teenagers are not planners and go for quantity over quality, making beer a much more likely drink of choice.
Think about what would happen if the same protections applied to clothes. Would it be fair to restrict Marylanders to buying clothes only from authorized retailers in Maryland, prohibit them from buying clothes online and arrest those who purchase more than two items out of state? (Wine regulations prohibit residents from purchasing more than two bottles out of state.) No. So why is it OK for wine?
As Montgomery County Democratic Sen. Jamie Raskin said, there needs to be a “free market in wine.” Legislators postponed ending Prohibition-era restrictions this year. They must open the market next year. They have no more business dictating what Marylanders should drink than they do forcing them to buy certain clothes.
