Phusion Statement in Response to Washington State Ban on Caffeinated Alcoholic Beverages
“We are extremely disappointed with the Washington State Liquor Control Board’s ruling for a number of reasons.
First, this ban is based on misguided information and does not address the issue at hand. If the true concern was to preserve the public health, safety, and general welfare, this ban would also address caffeinated liquor products, which contain three to four times as much alcohol as our products. Instead, under this ban, these products will remain legal and accessible to the same subset of the population that chose not to consume our products responsibly, sold in stores where existing alcohol laws can continue to be ignored, and abused alongside the same types of alcohols and other illicit substances that contributed to the incident at Central Washington University earlier this year. The CWU incident was disturbing and unacceptable, and points to the need to address an ongoing challenge facing colleges across the nation: the underage use and abuse of alcohol. Today’s action by the Board does little to address these concerns.
Lastly, the Board did not provideany justification for issuing the rule as an emergency measure. By ignoring and circumventing the normal process by which it is required to act, the Board deprived the men, women and businesses who will be affected by the ban any opportunity to be heard on whether the ban is warranted or authorized by law. TheBoard’s action will adversely affect many businesses in Washington – including many family-owned convenience stores, grocery stores, and distributors – in addition to our own business, and it will deprive the state of millions of dollars in sales and excise tax revenue.
Today, in states other than Washington, of-age consumers have a right to choose to purchase a legal, regulated product and enjoy it responsibly. Unfortunately, that right is being denied to Washingtonians as a result of the Board’s ill-considered action.”
