Maryland Wine Consumers Screwed Again By State Legislature

According to the Baltimore Sun, Maryland wine consumers' ability to purchase wine online is still being held hostage by state officials. This time the culprit is State Senator Joan Carter Conway, a Baltimore Democrat and chairwoman of the Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee. She claims to be an advocate of prohibiting underage drinking: "Her chief concern, she said, is that underage drinkers will tap the Internet for wine. There's no way, she said, to force delivery agencies, whether the U.S. Postal Service or a private carrier, to verify the age of the person accepting a package."

Well, if that is the case, how am I able to order wine online while living in neighboring Virginia and have the delivery company check my ID upon delivery. Her statement is quite laughable.

On a saner note, Sen. Jamie Raskin, a Montgomery County Democrat and proponent of "Free the Grapes", states that he has not heard "any convincing argument against the wine bill. It's working in other states. It can work here, too."

Of course it can. Here's a suggestion if you still can't conceive of wineries shipping directly to individuals. Have consumers order the wine and have it delivered to a local wine shop. The wine shop can collect taxes and ID the purchaser. Problem solved.