Starting June 29, grocers in the State of Oregon will be allowed to make same-day delivery of beer and wine to private homes. While there are some restrictions to this new policy released by the Oregon Liquor Control Commission (OLCC), the possibility for underage drinking has drawn some immediate criticism for the policy from a number of non-profit groups. Under the policy, grocery stores can deliver an unlimited amount of beer and wine to a home on the same day as long as the order is placed by 9 AM and delivered by 9 PM. Liquor is still only available in OLCC liquor stores.This policy is largely a grocery industry driven initiative; Safeway being one of the largest proponents of the change. Interestingly, Safeway is based out of Pleasanton, CA - a state where you can by liquor at a gas station. I'm not sure what I think of this policy. First off, we don't have any stores that deliver groceries in Corvallis anyway -- and I suppose I'm more opposed to the whole idea of having your groceries delivered than I am of the beer and wine component. The exception to my hesitance, of course, would be in situations where a person may be home bound or have other reasons where they cannot make it to the grocery store. I feel like your general, healthy adult should get out of the house and go shopping.
Nonetheless, as home delivery grows it will be intriguing to see if any unintended consequences arise.
