It has been a long time since we’ve seen a brazen move to slash sales of bev/al products, especially given the demonstrated success in reducing alcohol abuse and drunk driving over the past quarter century.
But Oregon Recovers, which says it is “tackling the addiction crisis head-on by building a statewide movement focused on implementing a comprehensive policy agenda that will move Oregon from last to first in access to safe, effective, and immediate addiction treatment and recovery support services” pushed for a bill that would have raised the tax on beer from $2.60 a barrel to $72.60 and the tax on wine from 65 cents a barrel to $10.65.
But all segments of the bev/al industry rallied to block the move, saying “beer, wine, cider and spirits are an essential part of Oregon’s economy and identity.” So now the group says it wants to increase treatment for addictions of all sorts and wants to reduce alcohol consumption by 15% by raising the cost of alcohol.
Legislators were to consider the proposal yesterday (4/5).