Today on my way home from work, I stopped at my favorite convenience store for smokes.
Yes, I know it's a disgusting habit.
This convenience store is run by a very nice husband and wife. I really like them, even if they do sell a whole lotta tacky in there too.
No really - if you're looking for a picture of a wolf laminated to particle board this is the place to go. They've also got a good selection of pipes and roach clips, mixed in with the tacky souvenir type knicky knacks.
While I was in there the owner asked me to sign a petition. A petition to change the laws and allow corner stores to sell wine, beer and other spirits.
Here in Ontario you buy your beer at The Beer Store, and everything else including beer at the LCBO. It might seem restrictive but it's always been that way.
Also, the legal drinking age here is 19. Coincidentally the same age you must be before a store can legally sell you cigarettes.
While the owners of the store I patronize might not sell cigarettes to minors, not all convenience store owners have the same morality. I have seen kids I KNOW are not old enough walk out of some stores with smokes in hand.
This is in spite of some very hefty fines that the store could face if caught.
I have never seen a teenager walk out of the LCBO or The Beer Store with a six pack of beer or a mickey of vodka in hand.
So even though I admire this couple and the dedication and hours they put into building their little business, I did not sign the petition.
I believe that sales of beer, wine and spirits in Ontario should stay exactly where they are - in the control of places with formalized training and policies. Places that hire people who won't knowingly sell alcohol to minors.
Let's face it, teens can find enough ways to break the rules. Rules that are put in place to protect them from their own foolishness. Why make it any easier for them.
In two days this blog turns into a three months old. This is also my 100th* post. Thank you to everyone who drops by and reads. I love interacting with all of you.
*Technically there are about 14 additional posts but since they reference The Swinger too much, you'll have to wait until such time as they no longer constitute grounds for dismissal to read them. That or if I manage to win the lottery. Sorry.
You can probably sleep better tonight knowing you did something with a good intention for a wide young demography. Very well done. Thanks for the post! :)
ReplyDeleteThank you. While I feel for the couple trying to earn a living, I just can't stand behind them on this one.
DeleteI agree that the last thing kids need is for us to make their rebellion easier to get away with. A little restriction is a good thing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, congrats on reaching post number 100!
Having raised two - it's a very good thing.
DeleteI'm with you. I don't sign everything put in front of me. The liquor laws are different here in the States and they could stand to be tightened up a bit.
ReplyDeleteIt really is a more structured environment to sell liquor. More corporation, less Mom & Pop. For selling liquor this is a good thing because it means formalized training and if the rules are broken, formalized disciplinary action.
DeleteIt's hard when someone asks you to sign a petition and you have to tell them no, especially when you are kind of friends with them. But good on you for standing by your convictions!
ReplyDeleteIt was a little embarrassing for both of us. He's obviously not used to being pushy - he's a very nice guy. I'm not used to saying no - but I did it. After raising one to adulthood I figure they just don't need it to be any easier.
DeleteGood for you! I think too many corner stores here in Michigan sell to minors & never get caught which causes a problem with underage delinquency. It's been like this as long as I can remember because I used to buy when I was underage (with a fake id that looked fake).
ReplyDeleteI also have the bad habit of smoking, but since I'm not working, I have to make them myself. It is a lot cheaper, though. (Hubby would say it would be even cheaper if I just quit...lol)
Some thing just need to be as hard as possible for minors to buy.
DeleteKids will always find ways, I remember walking past a primary school and kids walking out of there asking me for smokes ...
ReplyDeleteI don't doubt it - which is why it's better to keep alcohol out of the corner stores.
DeleteI think it's important to always stand up for what you believe in, even when it means you have to let someone you like know that you are not supporting something they want.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I don't doubt it was hard for him to ask, but still I had to say no.
DeleteI remember walking into a convenience store once when I was 18 or 19, and I heard a young kid ask an older lady (whom we all knew smoked) to buy him cigarettes. She told him she wouldn't because she wished the person who bought her first pack for her hadn't. That always stuck with me. I agree that there should be a crackdown on the sale of booze and cigarettes to minors!
ReplyDeleteI've never purchased alcohol or tobacco products for a minor. Never will either.
DeleteAs you know, it is much different here in the States, and I've never given it any thought. But that really makes sense, to only be able to sell it from certain locations. It doesn't prevent anyone from buying it that has the right to, but I can see how it would be much more controlled to keep teens from buying. Good job being brave enough to say no to signing the petition!
ReplyDeleteThank you.
DeleteGood for you. I never had trouble finding ways to drink as a teenager. I started when I was 15 and didn't stop for another 19 years. Definitely the harder it is to drink, the better.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a teen I had a friend who went through various stages of recovery from alcoholism. That's right - she wasn't even legal drinking age and already had a problem. Why make it any easier?
DeleteI had no idea you had to be 19 to buy cigarettes up there! Maybe it should be 21. Here, too.
ReplyDeleteThey changed the law to 19 three months before I turned 19. I had a harder time buying cigarettes for those three months than I had at anytime prior - even when I was 13.
DeleteI am old now, in my 60's, but between kids and grandkids and their friends they all know how to get underage booze by the age of 16. But putting bootleggers out of business would cut jobs and that is definitely not the Canadian way.
ReplyDeleteIt's true - they find ways. I just figure we don't need to make it easier for them.
DeleteThe only time I have wished that you could get alcohol at the corner store was when I was on some jobs where I would get off work at some wacky hour like 1am and would have killed for a 24 store with beer in it. Although now where I live they do sell hootch in the gas stations. Which, come to think of it, is a really, really bad idea.
ReplyDeleteHeck, there was a drive thru beer store on my way to work for about two years before it finally got shut down. Drinking and driving in the country. Yeah it's a thing. A scary unpleasant thing.
It's still a thing here too - but mostly with the older crowd. Our laws are pretty strict. As in if you go out for dinner have your drink first and it had better be your only one strict.
DeleteIt's 18 in some provinces - notably Alberta.
ReplyDeleteAs a Canadian living in the UK I had a real adjustment when I walked into the grocery store and found the alcohol aisles at the end of it.
I do believe it should be more difficult for teenagers to get their hands on alcohol BUT I also think the fact that alcohol is put in a separate store creates a bit of stigma around it. In the UK and Europe there is an understanding that alcohol is something that can be enjoyed for it's flavour and how it accompanies a meal - NOT just something for altering your state of mind.
But having it readily available as easily as cigarettes in the local corner store isn't going to shift the cultural mentality around drinking for getting drunk/having fun/relaxing rather than drinking because a glass of wine is a nice accompaniment to a good meal or a finger of whiskey goes well with pudding.
Congrats on your upcoming blogiversary!
ReplyDeleteHere in NJ you also can only buy liquor at the liquor store. But I wish we could get it at the corner store... But only because I'm lazy!
Hugs!
Valerie Nunez and the Flying Platypi
In CA, you can get beer and wine anywhere - even 7-11. NJ is a lot more strict. I agree with your reasoning.
ReplyDeleteYou know I like your thinking, and it would be great if all products were sold that way. Here in Australia it is so annoying that stores try to sell so much variety that every thing has become cut throat. Quality product is becoming a thing of the past. If stores stuck to what they do best then more stores would survive and not be undermined by the big companies.
ReplyDelete