A CITY DIVIDED: INITIATIVE 1100 AND 1105 CAUSING A STIR IN PULLMAN
BY: LAUREN MADEJA
If you’ve ever wished you could pick up toothpaste, cereal, and a bottle of Smirnoff vodka all in one stop, your wish may be coming true soon. With the November vote of Initiatives 1100 and 1105 coming up, people across Washington have been inundated with strong arguments from both sides of the issue. The initiatives, if passed, would both privatize liquor sales in Washington State, shutting down state run liquor stores and making hard liquor available in grocery stores.
Voters in Washington have been influenced by many different sources, which are all passionate about the initiatives for very different reasons. For example, Costco has contributed $642,000 to efforts to pass the initiatives. If passed, Costco would rake in huge profits from hard liquor sales, along with many other grocery stores who are hoping the initiatives will pass.
On the other side of the spectrum, many beer companies are opposing the initiatives because the sale of hard alcohol right alongside beer in grocery stores would majorly decrease the amount of beer people buy. People may choose beer over hard alcohol now because it’s easier to get, but when they are both easily accessible, beer profits will be hurt. Companies such as the Beer Institute has donated large sums of money in opposition to the initiatives.
While many of these messages in the media have been focusing on how I-1100 and I-1105 will affect Washington financially, not a lot of focus has been put on safety which is an issue that can’t be ignored in Pullman. Liquor sales in Pullman are some of the highest in the state, and one can only imagine how much more they would skyrocket if hard liquor was available at local grocery stores.
The passing of these initiatives could create so many new liabilities to students in Pullman. Having hard alcohol sold in any grocery store means it’s easily accessible whether it’s during the day, or at two in the morning. Although beer and wine is already sold in grocery stores, those beverages have much lower alcohol contents than most hard alcohols, making hard alcohol much more dangerous.
Senior WSU student Nick Miller thinks students would take advantage of hard liquor being sold in grocery stores.
“I’d be at Dissmore’s to make myself a PB&J and I could just pick up a bottle of vodka on the way out,” Miller said. “I just don’t think it sounds like a good idea.”
The hours restrictions of state liquor stores somewhat limit the consumption of hard alcohol since you can’t get it past 7 p.m. If students were able to run out to the grocery store and get hard alcohol at any time during the night, that could cause a whole new set of problems.
In California, where liquor sales have already been privatized, there were 1,509 drunk driving fatalities in 2008. In the same year in Washington, there were only 225 drunk driving fatalities. Hard alcohol being much more easily accessible in California could have definitely contributed to the excessive deaths there. If Washington had the same accessibility to hard alcohol there could be a major rise in drunk driving, especially in Pullman.
Another issue this initiative could bring about is the price of hard liquor. As of now, hard alcohol is pretty expensive because of the state tax mark up and the lack of competition since it is all controlled by the state. But with these initiatives, the state tax would be gone, or lessened, and prices of hard liquor would become competitive since it would be sold in almost every grocery and convenience store. With hard alcohol being so much cheaper, people would be able to afford much more, and therefore drink much more. To many college students in Pullman, this would seem like a great thing, but in reality it could mean kids drinking much more hard alcohol, putting themselves and others in danger.
Not only could there be dangers with people over 21 buying hard alcohol, but there would also be huge liabilities for underage kids getting their hands on hard alcohol. Grocery stores already have issues with people stealing beer and wine, and with hard alcohol on their shelves they would have even more problems. This is extremely dangerous because kids who don’t have experience drinking could steal hard alcohol from the grocery store and over drink. Since hard alcohol is so much stronger than anything sold in grocery stores now, this could send a lot of kids to the hospital or worse.
Madeline Gregory, a cashier at the popular WSU campus corner store Bob’s, says having hard alcohol sold in their store would cause a huge theft problem.
“We already have people coming in here all the time either openly running out with beer or trying to slip it out when it’s busy and I’m not paying attention,” Gregory said. “If we sold hard alcohol anyone could just come in and try to steal it, and I know people would.”
This would also make it easier for kids to not only steal alcohol, but also illegally purchase hard alcohol. As of now, underage kids can’t even enter a liquor store to even get the chance of buying or stealing liquor. But if liquor was sold in any grocery store or convenience store, any kid could walk in, and there is a much more likely chance that the cashier will either not ask for an ID, not properly check an ID, or not detect a fake ID.
Gregory says that this would be one of her greatest concerns if the initiatives passed.
“Here at Bob’s we are very careful about checking IDs and not selling alcohol to anyone who is too drunk,” Gregory said. “But I know a lot of places don’t care who they’re selling it to, if they’re under 21, if they’re wasted, it doesn’t matter because it’s a sale, and that’s what scares me.”
Junior accounting student Kayla Anguin agrees that small convenience stores and grocery stores are much more lax about the sale of alcohol than liquor stores.
“That’s how I got my alcohol in highschool, the guy at 711 never asked for my ID,” Anguin said. “I was just buying beer then, but it’s crazy to think kids could get away with buying hard alcohol that way now.”
There is obviously a lot more to think about than meets the eye when it comes to voting on I-1100 and I-1105. Voters have been hearing mostly about big financial affects this will have on the state, but here in Pullman there are much more personal reasons to be wary of these initiatives passing. With the safety of students and others at risk, let’s hope Washington voters can see through big company influence and think about what is truly important.

Sources: Nick Miller- 509-954-6704
Madeline Gregory- 253-973-5201
Kayla Anguin- 425-238-0060

Outline:
Lede: If you’ve ever wished you could pick up toothpaste, cereal, and a bottle of Smirnoff vodka all in one stop, your wish may be coming true soon
Point 1: Different sides of big picture/ big companies backing sides
Point 2: The more personal affects it would have on Pullman
Point 3: Accessibility to hard alcohol in Pullman is dangerous to students.
Point 4: Could lead to more instances of drunk driving
Point 5: Will lead to more theft/ illegal purchase of hard alcohol
Point 6: Hoping voters will think about personal risks instead on big financial picture