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Alcohol is special. We didn't merely undo prohibition. With that constitutional amendment, we removed most federal authority over alcohol. The commerce clause d
by burfog 8y ago
Alcohol is special. We didn't merely undo prohibition. With that constitutional amendment, we removed most federal authority over alcohol. The commerce clause does not apply anymore (State Board of Equalization v. Young's Market Co.), and thus can't be abused to regulate alcohol. About the only thing the federal government can do about alcohol is arm-twist the states into regulating it via things like highway funding being conditional on the existence of state regulations.
- Aloha 8y agoThats not exactly accurate - the feds do have various rules about booze, including what constitutes bourbon, for example.
- torstenvl 8y ago> With that constitutional amendment, we entirely removed federal authority over alcohol. Where are you getting that from?
- burfog 8y agoOK, mostly Section 2 of the 21st amendment was ruled on in State Board of Equalization v. Young's Market Co. and shown to give states unusual control of alcohol.
- torstenvl 8y agoI think you might be reading Young's Market a little too broadly. And in any case, it's questionable whether Young's Market is still good law after Granholm v. Heald, 544 U.S. 460 (2005). "If a State chooses to allow direct shipment of wine, it must do so on evenhanded terms. Without demonstrating the need for discrimination, New York and Michigan have enacted regulations that disadvantage out-of-state wine producers. Under our Commerce Clause jurisprudence, these regulations cannot stand." Id. at 493. So yeah, Amd. 21, §2 gives states Constitutional force behind some of their alcohol laws, but it doesn't usurp the Commerce power entirely.