Poll of the Day > People are starting to panic buy liquor in case we shut down again

(+) Yeah! (+)

(PA state run liquor stores)

In march we shut down for 1.5 months because of the covid situation. I was happy because I got paid for most of it, and collected unemployment for the rest of it.

Now with Covid cases rising, I can already see people panic buying at my store. I'm just over it at this point. Last time when the public found out my company was going to shut down, it was like Black Friday in my store. I can sense that happening again, since we're selling a lot more stuff by the case at the moment, though it has yet to reach the level where everybody and their uncles monkey is out trying to purchase liquor.

I have a friend who drinks every night, a coworker who has an alcohol problem, another coworker who buys a decent bit of stuff every few days. I drink, but I do it in moderation. sometimes working in the alcohol industry is draining because you see people with problems all day long but can't do anything about it. I know alcohol addiction is serious and dangerous, but surely folks, there is more to life than drinking every night.

(just to clarify, you can buy beer and wine elsewhere, but hard liquor is either my chain of stores or drinks at bars/restaurants)

This was kind of an aimless ranting topic because I can sense in the air, the public is starting to go crazy because a shutdown could be on the horizon. Some days you're just "over it" whatever that even means.

I can imagine. Thankfully beer distributors never closed and I work at a brewery.

---

argonautweakend posted...

, there is more to life than drinking every night.

NO THERE IS NOT

It's kinda funny seeing people worry about a second lockdown and shortages because my city never got past a lockdown pretty much lol...

Also my stores have limits on what you can buy

---

idk, kinda feels like people should be using that time to detox instead.

argonautweakend posted...

In march we shut down for 1.5 months because of the covid situation. I was happy because I got paid for most of it, and collected unemployment for the rest of it.

Tax dollars at work =x Actually, I guess either way it's government money.


---

Gotta have liquor if you're gonna be spending more time with your KIDS

---

Metalsonic66 posted...

Gotta have liquor if you're gonna be spending more time with your KIDS

Some people have this mindset and it's sad.

I know during the presidential debates, some people came and in bought liquor and said it was because they were going to need it to make it through the debates. I kinda feel like you just shouldn't bother with watching the debates if you need to drink it make it through it.

Meh. Needs more Black Friday stampedes.

---

argonautweakend posted...

I kinda feel like you just shouldn't bother with watching the debates if you need to drink it make it through it.

I say the same thing about sports.

---

Pennsylvania closing the liquor stores was a huge mistake. It made people that much more anxious to go back out to bars and spread the rona. At least they were smart enough to keep the medical dispensaries open.

---

Metalsonic66 posted...

Gotta have liquor if you're gonna be spending more time with your KIDS

I work for a medical marijuana company and when our governor canceled schools (for three weeks at the time) our business tripled and there were a lot of people coming in for that exact reason you listed.

BADoglick posted...

Pennsylvania closing the liquor stores was a huge mistake. It made people that much more anxious to go back out to bars and spread the rona.

The level to which people will gladly burn down society just to keep their hits of booze flowing is truly astonishing and sickening.
But yeah, it's a lesson we learned in the Prohibition era, so I guess we should know by now.
If pot users were way more violent and sociopathic, it'd have been legalized nationwide decades ago.

Alcohol is a drug. If you can't live w/o it for even a few weeks, you have a fucking problem. (declarative statement in general, not aimed at you, BADoglick)
Turns out, 10's of millions of people have a fucking problem

streamofthesky posted...

If you can't live w/o it for even a few weeks

The problem is some people literally cant live without it for a few weeks.

im fortunate because I got it under control over the last year and the VA put me on meds to lower the risk of seizures while I slowed down, but some people dont have the opportunity

i understand it is a problem. on my end it is frustrating because of it, but i totally sympathize with addiction problems.

Alcohol stores were essential in my state

---

You could still buy beer or wine here or get it online from other places, and then eventually ours. But some people need 750ML or more of hard liquor a day. I understand some people are like that, so I get it. That equivalent is like a case of beer or more. I'd hope some people decided to get help during the time we were closed, but the reality of it, I would imagine almost nobody did. I like working in a liquor store because I like to talk about nice drinks, fancy whiskys, rums etc. But there is this other side of the business that is different in a weird way. But I recognize it is the reality of it. I wish society wasn't so depending on it(in an addiction and "i cant stand my family with out it" type of way) but that's reality.

I really just want people to be safe. I tell almost every person i wait on to "take care" because I do actually mean it. If I never see you again I generally consider that a good thing assuming things haven't gotten worse.

JOExHIGASHI posted...

Alcohol stores were essential in my state

They should be. People can die from withdrawal and we don't need that in the emergency room right now

---

Losers need their drug addictions, unfortunately.

---

thisisfine.jpg

Unless they're buying up fine wines or whiskeys as investments in case the dollar tanks, this is just pathetic.

---

I remember reading an article in late spring about how because the bars are closed, there were most hospitalizations for alcohol poisoning because there's no one to cut off an acoholic from getting too wasted when you're home alone.

---

eating4fun posted...

I remember reading an article in late spring about how because the bars are closed, there were most hospitalizations for alcohol poisoning because there's no one to cut off an acoholic from getting too wasted when you're home alone.

The sheer lack of personal responsibility is breathtaking.

It's your own damn home. You have complete control of the situation. If anyone is really that pathetic, lock the fucking booze up and only keep out the max amount you're willing to drink that evening.
Quit relying on someone else to force moderation on you.

Our governor (who always pushes masks and social distancing) just tested positive for covid, which means all the assholes are gonna go "See!? That shit doesn't work!"

---

Can you not buy alcohol in supermarkets ?

jkdarlow posted...

Can you not buy alcohol in supermarkets ?

No, we just got the ability to stock Wine and Beer in gas stations two years ago.

---

raised alcoholism incoming

---

jkdarlow posted...

Can you not buy alcohol in supermarkets ?

DocDelicious posted...

No, we just got the ability to stock Wine and Beer in gas stations two years ago.

The Acme grocery store I can walk to sells wine and beer but you have to go to the state run stores to get liquor.

---

JOExHIGASHI posted...

Alcohol stores were essential in my state

They were in most of Canada, too, the rationale being that alcoholics withdrawing (withdrawal from alcohol being one of the few drug withdrawals that can actually kill you) would cause more harm than would be prevented by closing them. I believe the couple of provinces that did try closing them ended up reversing the decision for that reason. I feel like setting up a supply just for alcoholics that needed it would probably have been healthier overall, but that would require a lot of additional logistics at a pretty chaotic time, so I can accept declaring liquor stores essential as a reasonable second choice.

That said, the casual alcoholism of "I need to start my day with wine now that my kids are home" is pretty disturbing. That's just not healthy, and it's been a terribly common sentiment since schools and daycares closed.

---

jkdarlow posted...

Can you not buy alcohol in supermarkets ?

It all depends on the state and how they regulate it. Some states are a little more accessible than others, with some states still even having dry counties.

I went to the store yesterday and people were buying everything.

---

argonautweakend posted...

Some people have this mindset and it's sad.

I know during the presidential debates, some people came and in bought liquor and said it was because they were going to need it to make it through the debates. I kinda feel like you just shouldn't bother with watching the debates if you need to drink it make it through it.

Sounds like you're thinking too rigidly. People often exaggerate things for baseless effect. They may look and act serious, but they may not be at all. Its completely on you to interpret that nuance correctly.

---

argonautweakend posted...

i understand it is a problem. on my end it is frustrating because of it, but i totally sympathize with addiction problems.

If you sympathize with addiction, how can you morally justify selling the product that causes that addiction?

streamofthesky posted...

The level to which people will gladly burn down society just to keep their hits of booze flowing is truly astonishing and sickening.
But yeah, it's a lesson we learned in the Prohibition era, so I guess we should know by now.
If pot users were way more violent and sociopathic, it'd have been legalized nationwide decades ago.

Alcohol is a drug. If you can't live w/o it for even a few weeks, you have a fucking problem. (declarative statement in general, not aimed at you, BADoglick)
Turns out, 10's of millions of people have a fucking problem

The problem with prohibition is that it was an immediate stop instead of winding it down until society was free of alcoholism. Basically it asked an alcoholic nation to quit cold turkey. The problem was less the principle, but more the execution. The other broader issue is just the fact that the world as a whole would need to agree to stamp out the pestilence known as alcohol for any removal to be effective.


---

Hard to find other things like Diet Dr. Pepper too. Has been for awhile.

---

You should hide yo licka before I drink it all

Zeus posted...

If you sympathize with addiction, how can you morally justify selling the product that causes that addiction?

The fact that the vast majority of customers consume it safely and responsibly and aren't addicted to it probably helps. That, and having and exercising the power to refuse service to people that are dangerously drunk to help prevent the harm that might arise if they were to drink more.

You've really gone on quite the necro binge this evening, haven't you?

---

Zeus posted...

The problem with prohibition is that it was an immediate stop instead of winding it down until society was free of alcoholism.

That's definitely not the only problem. The weed prohibition, and prohibition against other drugs, has also been a major failure and that wasn't because it was an immediate stop that just needed slowing down. Illegal drug trade pops up in its place and that is a huge societal problem as well. Then you just have addiction _and_ cartel/mafia violence.

Addiction is a problem, but it should be treated as a healthcare concern and resources should be spent on that. Prohibition isn't a good answer.

---

I feel really sorry for people who have the need to buy liquor in a panic that it won't be available

What a sad state of affairs to be in

---

adjl posted...

The fact that the vast majority of customers consume it safely and responsibly and aren't addicted to it probably helps. That, and having and exercising the power to refuse service to people that are dangerously drunk to help prevent the harm that might arise if they were to drink more.

Well, no, it's still likely an addiction, just at a lower level. And flooding the market with booze ensures that anybody would wants it can easily get it.

adjl posted...

You've really gone on quite the necro binge this evening, haven't you?

Blame the board for moving too fast and the more topics for reminding me things exist. I'm not sure why you tend to make such a big deal of it, this isn't fucking Reddit and the board is set up to re-engage older topics.

grimhilde00 posted...

That's definitely not the only problem. The weed prohibition, and prohibition against other drugs, has also been a major failure and that wasn't because it was an immediate stop that just needed slowing down. Illegal drug trade pops up in its place and that is a huge societal problem as well. Then you just have addiction _and_ cartel/mafia violence.

Addiction is a problem, but it should be treated as a healthcare concern and resources should be spent on that. Prohibition isn't a good answer.

Banning harmful substances has generally been the best solution for addressing a problem, although it's an incomplete solution because you need to also treat the addicts. And when you have a substance involved in a third of all car crashes, a very substantial amount of felonies, a heavy factor in domestic abuse and rape, etc, *any* reduction is going to yield a massive windfall for the nation as a whole. Given that it's an underlying factor in so much violence and criminality, most problems in the US would decrease substantially.

---