Roughly one-third of US states have various forms of monopoly over liquor sales; sometimes it's just over wholesaling, and in a few states, only state-run store

Roughly one-third of US states have various forms of monopoly over liquor sales; sometimes it's just over wholesaling, and in a few states, only state-run stores are allowed to sell beverages over some ABV: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverage_control_state https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholic_beverage_control_sta... It was/is a sensible strategic move to frame cannabis legalization as "regulate it like alcohol"; but looking at the bizarre patchwork of regulations for each state regarding alcohol (a historical side effect of the gradual elimination of Prohibition), a lot of that baggage is now getting carried over to cannabis ("from grain to bottle" compliance -> "from seed to sale"). I personally consider states and investors getting a steep cut or artificial monopoly to be a lesser evil than tolerating the grave injustice of the War on Drugs, but as legalization becomes more normalized, it's worth paying attention to these details and policy trade-offs on new state initiatives. Source: Coloradan who formerly worked in alcohol compliance.