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You think NJ is silly? Go to Utah, or Nevada, or Missouri, or Georgia, or even Pennsylvania. Even NY! Most states in this country have much more ridiculous liquor laws than NJ.

NJ's liquor laws are simple:
Want liquor?
Go to liquor store (for anything and everything)


Compare that to Pennsylvania, our next-door neighbor:
Want liquor?
Go to a bar (if you want a 6-pack)
Go to a beer distributor (if you want a case)
Go to a wine and spirits store (if you want wine or spirits)
Go to god knows where (if you want a keg)
Oh and half the stores are state-owned.

Not to mention the ridiculous rules that every variety of beer ever sold by a business must be registered for a fee with the state or it can be confiscated.

And you think NJ has silly laws?

Once again it comes down to government telling its people what they can do and when and where they can do it. The more we accept without resistence, the more restrictions are implemented. That's called a dictatorship. The less government is involved in my every day life the better off I am.

Change in N.J. Assembly helps fuel new push to sell alcohol in supermarkets

Published: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 6:00 AM
Updated: Sunday, February 19, 2012, 7:44 AM

By Jarrett Renshaw/Statehouse Bureau

TRENTON ? A bill that would make it easier for supermarket chains and big-box stores to put booze on their shelves is getting renewed interest in Trenton, thanks largely to a switch in Democratic leadership that sent the measure?s biggest opponent to the back benches of the Legislature.

Supporters say the move would make life easier for consumers who would be able to buy six-packs at their grocery stores ? and help convince chains to open supermarkets in cities like Camden and Newark, where residents lack easy access to nutritional food.

"It?s time for a change. These laws date back to the 1960s and are holding up progress," said A.J. Sabath, executive director of New Jersey Retailers for Responsible Liquor Licensing, which is lobbying for the move. "An overwhelming number of consumers want this convenience."

But critics say the bills represent the "Walmartization" of the beer and liquor industry and would threaten the hundreds of families who own and operate package stores across the state.

Full nj.com piece?

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2012 ... nj_assembly_helps_fu.html

Could be worse... in VT I have to buy the hard stuff from the State run stores (very overpriced.. crappy selection). My parents usually take a drive over to New Hampshire to buy booze once a year. State run stores, but NH does them well (good prices) selling mostly to people from Massachusetts. The stores are strategically placed along the NH border with Massachusetts.

I just wish we could pump our own gas in this state.

I figured lobbies had something to do with it.

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You guessed it.


The liquor license laws are really silly in this state. They are limited by the state, and limited by population.

For a while, grocery stores were buying up all the local liquor licenses in a town so that the only place to buy liquor was in the grocery store liquor store.

Note that now you can't buy liquor from a grocery store -- they are always separate.

Moreover, because liquor licenses are finite, the prices appreciates in value. But the state isn't getting a recurring fee from the license, as happens in many other states.

The liquor store lobby?