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The Daily Tar Heel

Opinion: Alcohol law is unintentionally burdensome

T op of the Hill Restaurant & Brewery’s challenge to an impractical and unnecessary side effect of North Carolina alcohol law should be approved by the North Carolina General Assembly.

Scott Maitland, the founder and manager of TOPO, has written a house bill that would allow distilleries in the state to sell limited amounts of their products after distillery tours.

This bill should be made law as soon as possible, but it should not start a trend of eroding the regulatory power of the Alcoholic Beverage Control Commission.

Maitland’s bill has passed both houses of the General Assembly, but not in the same legislative session. Maitland said the bill has little opposition in the General Assembly, and what opposition does exist stems from a concern that the distilleries will take some of the ABC’s business.

If such a wariness exists, it shouldn’t. The proposed piece of legislation gives North Carolina business owners a way to give themselves a small boost in business with negligible possibilities of harm.

And distillery owners have emphasized they have no desire to challenge the essential function of the ABC Commission.

The ABC Commission’s control of the sale of spirituous liquors in the state is an example of good governance and sound social policy. The ABC Commission simultaneously discourages excessive drinking, places tighter controls on underage drinking and brings in millions of dollars of needed revenues.

But allowing distillery owners to sell limited amounts of their products to eager consumers at the end of tours does not challenge these essential functions of the ABC Commission. Instead, it allows distilleries to more directly compete with wineries and breweries, encouraging healthy commerce.

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