The Safe Bar program, an initiative by the Sexual Assault Center (SAC), will be held for the first time in Tennessee during next week’s New Year’s Eve event in Nashville.
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State Agencies Launch Back to School Campaign to Prevent Underage Drinking Among Tennessee Teens
With the new school year starting back up, the Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) and Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) have launched a campaign to prevent underage drinking among Tennessee youth.
Read the full storyWisconsin Measure Would Allow Teens as Young as 14 to Serve Alcohol
Teenagers as young as 14 could soon be allowed to serve alcohol to seated customers in bars and restaurants if a measure being advanced by a pair of state GOP lawmakers passes.
Current law allows only workers 18 and older to perform such duties, and “causes workforce issues due to an establishment’s underage employees only being able to do part of their job,” Sen. Rob Stafsholt, of New Richmond, and Rep. Chanz Green, of Grandview, said, as they are now pushing the bill and seeking more cosponsors.
Read the full storySecond Amendment Lawsuit Challenges ATF’s New Gun Control Rule
A new federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) rule on pistols with stabllizing braces faces a Second Amendment lawsuit filed on behalf of disabled veterans.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) filed the complaint Tuesday in the U.S. Northern District of Texas Amarillo Division.
Read the full storyMichigan Gov. Whitmer OKs 17-Year-Olds Serving Alcohol, Swim-Up Bars
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed nine bills, including specific pieces of legislation that allow 17-year-olds serve alcohol under certain conditions, increase carnival safety requirements, and legalize swim-up bars.
“While these bills continue our record of bipartisan collaboration, Michiganders are counting on us to continue growing Michigan’s economy, creating good-paying jobs, and lowering cost for working families who are facing rising prices at the grocery store and the gas pump,” Whitmer said in a statement.
Read the full storyStates That Legalized Marijuana Are Bringing in More Tax Revenue on Marijuana Sales than Alcohol
A majority of the states that legalized recreational marijuana for recreational use are collecting more tax revenue from pot sales than alcohol sales.
The first two states to legalize pot are profiting the most, Colorado and Washington. Across the country, the total revenue for taxes on weed amounted to nearly $3 billion, according to a report on “sin taxes” by The Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP).
Read the full storyNew Details Emerge from Minnesota DFL’s Farmfest Rollover
Two of Minnesota’s most influential Democrats were driving to a fundraising event when they were involved in a rollover crash last summer. An open alcohol container was found in the vehicle, according to documents obtained by Alpha News, yet nobody was charged with an open-container violation.
Minnesota State Auditor Julie Blaha and Senate Minority Leader Melisa López Franzen collided with a semi-truck as they drove from Farmfest to an afterparty fundraising event on Aug. 4 last year. Their vehicle rolled off the road in Three Lakes Township, but nobody was seriously injured. Blaha was driving and was not found to have any alcohol in her system after the accident. Franzen, however, said she had been drinking White Claws earlier that day.
Read the full storyAlcohol-Related Deaths Skyrocketed During COVID-19 Pandemic, Study Finds
The number of Americans who died due to alcohol-related causes skyrocketed in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the results of a new study.
Alcohol-related deaths rose roughly 25% from 2019 to 2020, according to a March 18 study conducted by researchers at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and published in The Journal of the American Medical Association.
Read the full storyReport: 1 in 5 Americans Say They Drank Heavily During Pandemic
A new study found that one in five Americans drank “heavily” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The online survey conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of biopharmaceutical company Alkermes found that 17% of respondents reported “heavy drinking” in the last 30 days. The survey also showed that at least 13% of respondents underwent treatment for their drinking patterns.
Read the full storyTo-Go Alcohol in Tennessee Remains, But with Added Tax
Of the many alcohol-related bills that passed the Tennessee Legislature this year and were signed by Gov. Bill Lee, one maintains a popular pandemic rule but taxes consumers for it.
Lee signed an executive order last year while COVID-19 restrictions were in place that allowed restaurants to sell to-go alcohol with restrictions.
The enacted House Bill 241 allows those sales to continue until July 1, 2023, but it also adds a 15% tax on those alcohol purchases.
Read the full storyOhio Businesses No Longer Need Voter Approval for Sunday Alcohol Sales
Ohio businesses no longer have to ask voters to be allowed to sell alcohol on Sundays. Now, they only need the General Assembly’s permission.
Thanks to a bill recently signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, businesses can get the ok from the state legislature for Sunday sales, and Friday and Saturday alcohol sales can continue until 4 a.m. the next day with a specific liquor permit.
Read the full storyTo-Go Drinks an Elixir for Public, a Lifeline for Business
The coronavirus is shaking up America’s liquor laws.
At least 33 states and the District of Columbia are temporarily allowing cocktails to-go during the pandemic. Only two — Florida and Mississippi — allowed them on a limited basis before coronavirus struck, according to the Distilled Spirits Council of the United States.
Read the full storyMichigan Bars Closed for Indoor Service, Restaurants Now Allowed to Deliver Alcohol
Michigan restaurants and bars will now be allowed to sell to-go alcoholic beverages, thanks to a new package of bills signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday.
Bars and restaurants will now be able to sell drinks to-go, as well as deliver them, until December 31, 2025. Whitmer’s office said the bills are aimed at providing relief for restaurants and bars impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, according WXYZ.
Read the full story80 Percent of Minnesota Craft Breweries Say They’ll Be Closed in Six Months if Shutdown Continues
A new report indicates that the coronavirus pandemic could wipe out more than half of Minnesota’s craft breweries.
“With the closure period extended, breweries continue to see a decline in revenues despite their ability to sell curbside and delivery. The biggest hurdles to continued revenue are a lack of off-sale options as well as a drop in orders from distributors and retailers given the inability for bars and restaurants to serve draught beer,” states an April 26 report from the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.
Read the full storyOhio Now Allows Alcohol with Take-Out, Delivery
The Ohio Liquor Control Commission passed an emergency rule that allows restaurants to sell and deliver alcohol with take-out and delivery orders, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday.
The rule only applies to establishments with an existing on-premises liquor permit and has restrictions on quantity.
Breweries can now sell beer and wine that are not their own without food purchase, although liquor must be purchased with food. Patrons are only allowed to purchase two drinks per meal, and all drinks must remain closed during transport per the state’s open container laws.
Read the full storyNineteen People Have Died from Drinking Tainted Alcohol in Costa Rica, Officials Say
by Hanna Panreck Costa Rica issued a national alert warning citizens about tainted alcohol after officials confirmed 19 people died from methanol poisoning. Fourteen men and five women between the ages of 32 and 72 died from methanol poisoning since June 2, according to the Ministry of Health on July 19. Seven of these deaths were in the San Jose Province, a very populated area in Costa Rica, CBS reported. The government confiscated about 30,000 bottles of liquor suspected of containing methanol under the brands Guaro Montano, Guaro Gran Apache, Aguardiente Estrella, Aguardiente Barón Rojo, Aguardiente Timbuka and Moltov Aguardiente. Aguardiente in English translates to “fire water,” The Associated Press reported. “The Costa Rican government has tested the bottles. These are local bottles of Aguardiente, a popular, neutral spirit made typically from sugar cane, and it had 30-50% methanol in the bottles, which are perfect replicas and counterfeit bottles,” Kemal Canlar, founder of SafeProof.org, said Monday in an interview with “Fox & Friends.” “This is illegal black market, illicit counterfeiters, they are looking to make a profit by infiltrating the supply chain.” “It’s a lot cheaper, so you buy methanol typically in a 55-gallon drum. It costs pennies per gallon and it’s toxic,” Canlar added. Methanol is used…
Read the full storyTennessee Pastors Network Calls on Tennessee’s Legislators to Reject Sunday Sales of Alcohol
Tennessee Pastors Network President Dale Walker called on Tennessee legislators to reject a bill moving through the legislature that would allow for sales of wine and liquor on Sundays in Tennessee Tuesday. “We have more than enough problems with alcohol abuse in Tennessee without making it even more easily and readily accessible, especially on the Lord’s Day,” Walker saidn in a statement, adding: We are praying that the legislators will focus on the dangers of fueling even more addiction and harm to Tennessee families from these products rather than bowing to the demands of the liquor lobbyists and their large campaign donations. Alcohol continues to devastate more and more lives, and our politicians are to blame when they allow an increasing number of venues for alcohol to be sold. Now they not only want more venues, they want to add an additional day for the sale of these products. Do legislators really believe the problems and challenges we face in Tennessee will be solved by more of our neighbors and family members consuming more alcohol? I pray that Tennessee wakes up and defeats this liquor industry push for more alcohol sales. Sunday sales of liquor and other alcoholic beverages will not make…
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