“Habitual Drunkard” Revisited

The following is an excerpt from an editorial in the University of Wisconsin-Madison Cardinal supporting a proposed law in Madison, Wisconsin which addresses alcohol sales to chronic alcohol abusers.  The law is basically an operationalization of the “habitual drunkard” provisions found in many state law codes (including California, Colorado, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, and Wyoming).  An analysis of the law will follow in the near future. (Opinions solicited from alcohol policy advocates thus far have been mixed.)

Alcohol policy in Madison is rarely simple, straightforward or one-size-fits all. Any proposed policy must be thoroughly vetted in terms of its impact on students, bar owners, police and the general community. This is a city that demands public participation in such decisions and should not be one that unfairly singles out a particular constituency for inappropriate burdens on personal rights.

Yet one small segment of the population needs to be held accountable for the disproportionate effect they have on city resources. Roughly 100  to 150 chronic street alcoholics have been costing the city untold amounts of time and money, causing some officials to endorse a plan to ban retailers from selling such individuals alcohol within the city.

The proposed law would create a list of habitual offenders who were either taken to detoxification treatment six times or arrested and convicted of a crime committed while drunk six times in the last 180 days, or a combination of the two criteria. It would ban liquor suppliers from selling them alcohol and impose a $500 fine on those who sell to banned persons. Albeit, the bill is tight when dealing with liquor stores, it would not stop residents from drinking in bars or restaurants…

… We call on the Common Council and community leaders to strongly support this plan when it is debated in the coming months. Anything less would be an insult to taxpayers and downtown residents.