Forgot to note, for folks who don’t know… “Standard CEO” means the CEO of Standard Insurance. One of the largest employers in downtown Portland.
Standard Insurance Building here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Insurance_Center
Forgot to note, for folks who don’t know… “Standard CEO” means the CEO of Standard Insurance. One of the largest employers in downtown Portland.
Standard Insurance Building here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standard_Insurance_Center
Incredibly more destructive, but I wouldn’t say Oregon has more of an alcohol problem than other states, in fact, the way the OLCC operates, it’s probably the opposite.
According to here, there are only 280 liquor stores in Oregon:
https://www.oregon.gov/olcc/liquorstores/Pages/distilled-spirits-sales.aspx
With a population of 4.2 million, that’s 1 store for every 15,000 or so people.
Which is nothing compared to a state like Illinois which has 1,326 on a population of 12 million, or approximately 1 store for every 9,710 people.
https://thecapitolist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Liquor-Stores-in-Non-Quota-Non-Control-States.pdf
I had a job, oh, 25 years ago or so now, where I commuted back and forth between Portland and Chicago.
Chicago was strange, even in the suburbs, because it was super hard to find a grocery store, but there were liquor stores on every corner. I had to go way out to East Jesus to find a Super Walmart or a Winco.
I still remember my favorite name: “Binnie’s Beverage Depot” - So fancy!
Wow, they’re still a thing - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binny’s_Beverage_Depot
You did the math for liquor stores (without really quantifying density, given there are dry countries and large swaths of empty land), but what about bars, wineries and distilleries? What are we up to for deaths related to alcohol (addiction and DUI killings) every year, have we exceeded 150,000 yet? It was just under 100k a few years ago, but covid might have changed it. Probably what meth/fentanyl/opioids do combined.
Some quick numbers from the NIH, 93k is the number from all non-alcohol related overdose deaths in 2020, versus just over 140,000 alcohol related deaths.
I’m curious why folks seem to harp on some drugs, but not others?
If I were to guess, it’s because the drunks aren’t sleeping in tents, stealing everything that isn’t nailed down, and shitting on sidewalks… but that’s just a guess.