JAN/FEB 1999

VOL.4 NO.1

Quote & Comment -- What They Said and What I Think

The Quote

"It is well documented that more and more teenagers are using the Web to skirt drinking laws -- and cyber-bootleggers are more than willing to give them a hand, and a drink. In this high-tech age, state governments have a responsibility to make it harder -- not easier -- for teens to buy beer, wine and liquor." -- Barry W. McCahill, Executive Director of Americans for Responsible Alcohol Access, commenting on a proposed North Dakota law that would make illegal sales of alcohol over the Internet.

The Comment

1. Despite Mr. McCahill's claim that it is "well-documented," I have yet to see any hard evidence linking Internet-based sales of beer, wine and spirits to alcohol abuse.
2. In order to purchase from most web sites, the buyer needs to posess a credit card. Exactly how many "teens" does Mr. McCahill think pack their own Visa, MasterCard or Amex?
3. To my experience, most sites that retail alcohol over the Internet specialize in expensive premium or hard-to-find products, not exactly the kind of brands that appeal to most fifteen-year-old would-be drinkers.
4. While I admitedly have not seen the full legislation being proposed in North Dakota, at first blush this would appear to me to be yet another case of overzealous law-making that will unfairly restrict the rights of the majority of law-abiding drinkers in favour of a perceived attack upon a minority of abusers.

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