Brock Talks: Controlling the Essentials

Many concerned citizens have questioned why, during the shutdowns necessitated by the current pandemic, liquor and cannabis stores have been deemed essential services. Surely there is no right to consume intoxicants! This may be the case, but the history of government attempts to strictly regulate and even prohibit alcohol can help us to understand the problems with restriction and the logic behind making sure such services remain in operation. Professor Dan Malleck will explore the reactions to strict government regulation of that perennially popular but problematic product, alcohol, and suggest that various attempts at prohibition resulted in bigger problems than the solution was intended to solve.