Pennsylvania is the only other jurisdiction outside Islamic nations whose liquor retailing is as convoluted and juvenile as ours here in British Columbia. They are set to introduce an idea so epically stupid it’s hard to believe that it wasn’t thought of here first. Here is how the new wine vending machines will operate.
• Patrons slide a driver’s license into the machine to prove they are at least 21.
• It will operate from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
• A camera tied into the Liquor Control Board’s central office ensures the person buying the wine and the license match.
• The patron breathes into a special pad that measures blood-alcohol level. Any reading of .05 or higher — which is .03 below the level at which a driver is considered impaired in Pennsylvania — will end the transaction.
• Invalid matches between the driver’s license and the patron also will halt a transaction, as will an invalid credit or debit card.
• The machine will not accept cash.
So basically they are an “am I sober enough to drive” machine. The lengths petty bureaucracies will go to maintain the grip on their tiny empires is ludicrous.
If you are done fuming over the inanity of nanny-state booze control, have a look at these movies which were the winners of the first Vinos BC Wine Film Festival. The second place winner employs the trope of pissing on the vines, which pretty clearly sums up my feelings about the vast majority of local juice.
~KT
