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The Evolution of Liquor Laws in British Columbia
Recently as I wandered through the B. C. government liquor store at Fort St. and Foul Bay Road, in Victoria I couldn't help but be impressed with the wide variety of products available and the pleasant and inviting atmosphere in which they were displayed. I was amazed to discover there was even a wine consultant ready to answer any oenophilic queries one might have. This prompted me to draw an analogy between the evolution of liquor distribution in B.C. and the evolution of human history during the past millennium.
During the First World War, British Columbia, along with most other Canadian provinces adopted Prohibition. Under the B.C. law that came into effect in 1917, alcohol was available only for mechanical and medicinal purposes. Despite the overall attempt to discourage alcohol consumption, the Canadian government allowed certain exceptions. Qualified physicians, for example, could prescribe alcohol medications for their patients available from a licensed pharmacy. Not surprisingly, this resulted in a remarkable increase in demand for alcohol for medicinal purposes. During one three year period in Ontario, prior to repeal, alcohol related prescriptions increased from 315,000 to 810,000. When abolitionists demanded an explanation for this dramatic increase in volume, they were told it was the result of the recent influenza epidemic. Thus, in a plebiscite at the time of the 1920 provincial election, British Columbians voted by a substantial majority to allow the sale of spirituous and malt liquors in sealed packages at government stores. The first government liquor store opened in 1921. Within the year, there were fifty-one such stores throughout the province. Patrons had to be at least 21 years of age and had to purchase an annual permit at a cost of five dollars.
I can't verify that all government liquor stores were similar to the one located in the interior B. C. town in which I was raised. I do, however, have some vivid images based on those rare occasions when I accompanied my mother on a shopping trip that included a stop at the one and only liquor store. The store was very small by today's standards and quite drab. Windows were covered to prevent the curious from sneaking a peek inside....