How Alcohol Regulators Become Tools of Wholesalers

I saw it first hand.

Earlier this week I sat in a ballroom in Philidelphia, Pennsylvania, and listened to one of the elder statesmen of the alcohol industry implore those in attendance to “Stop the squabbling between manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers. It’s utterly unacceptable behavior, utterly shortsighted, and distracting from what we need to get done.”

I listened to this message from my spot in the middle of the ballroom, surrounded primarily by representatives of the wholesale tier and members of the alcohol regulatory community who had all paid to be at the annual Alcohol Law and Policy Conference.

I should give some background about this conference I attended. It is produced by the Center for Alcohol Policy (CAP). CAP is the creation of, is funded by, and is a front group for the National Beer Wholesalers of America, an organization that donates millions of dollars to candidates and opposes any reform to alcohol laws if those reforms in any way unshackles producers and retailers from restrictions that only benefit wholesalers. NBWA is a trade association that actively opposes giving consumers access to any alcohol product that is not distributed by wholesalers. If you look at the website of the Center for Alcohol Policy, you will find no disclosure that it is owned part and parcel by the beer wholesalers’ trade association.