The Summer of the Open Container

The big questions for California this week is who will challenge Supreme Leader Trump to trial by combat this November for the right to live in a modest home in Washington DC.

If polls are to be believed, Secretary Clinton holds a slight edge on the socialist from Vermont, but polls should not be believed because no one under 40 answers the phone if they don't recognize the number.

However, of much greater intrigue to California voters on November 8th will be the option to fully legalize marijuana in California, thus putting lots of green scrubs-clad 'nurses' on the Venice Boardwalk out of jobs.

That's right folks, come November 8th you may be able to walk into a weed store, show a California ID and buy up to an ounce of marijuana. Similar plans have been enacted in states such as Colorado and Washington to staggering results. It's a win win in that the state generates tax revenue and you don't need to tell some disgraced 'doctor' from the University of the Caribbean about some old fake lacrosse injury to get a 'diagnosis.'

Most scholars agree that it is only a matter of time before marijuana is completely legalized to the adult population of the United States, but that is not what I am here to argue today.

I take issue with Los Angeles Municipal Code 41.27 (c)

An excerpt:

No person shall drink any malt, spirituous or vinous liquor containing more than one-half of one per cent of alcohol by volume, upon any street, sidewalk or parkway, park, playground, Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, or in any railroad depot or bus station, or in any public place, or in any place open to the patronage of the public, which premises are not licensed for the consumption of such liquor on the premises.

I know what you're thinking, "Easy fix Dave, there is no mention of Four Loko in that code!" Sadly my friends I believe that my beloved Four Loko is covered under the catch-all that is 'malt.'

At current, most major metropolitan areas of the United States ban drinking in public with a few exceptions: Las Vegas, New Orleans, Savannah and Erie, PA. (As well as some smaller cities and/or dedicated bar districts such as Power and Light in Kansas City)

The purposes of these laws are almost certainly of a moral variety: People should not be walking around in public getting drunk. And of course in large cities such as Los Angeles and New York City where vagrancy is a major concern, the thought of lifting an open container law only feeds that people already living on the fringes may act up even more than usual.

I would counter though that lifting an open container ban would actually curb drunkenness in public (which would still be illegal) as it dissuades one from binge drinking.

Anecdotally speaking, I imagine everyone reading this blog has taken 'a couple more' quick shots before heading out the door to enjoy themselves in public for the evening; be it a concert, an art event, a neighborhood block party.

If we didn't treat alcohol as so taboo and instead something that can help bring communities together, perhaps we would see a drop in alcohol related crimes that include vandalism, assault, battery.

In European nations with much lower drinking ages teen binge drinking is reported at lower rates than it is here in the states. When studies are conducted why this is, the findings typically come back as "well it's been legal from such an early age that it's just not that big of a deal anymore."

The type of binge drinking that occurs on a Saturday before hitting the beach or on a Friday night before attending a ball game typically occurs for two reasons: length of time before next drink and/or price of next drink. This often results in unintended overindulgence. If we were to remove these two variables, we could have a much more social and safer existence.

Before I took a walking tour of Copenhagen a few weeks ago, my guide told us that the tour would last about 4 hours and that we would walk about 6 miles. "Grab a six pack to share with a friend, there are no open container laws here." So we did. And at night to watch the sunset on the pier, we brought a bottle of wine. And on the 15 minute walk to the pub at night, we brought a cocktail in a disposable cup.

And this is Copenhagen, one of the highest functioning cities in the world. No crime, no inherent alcohol problems, just a small walking city full of happy people. Allowing people to walk around our neighborhoods drinking socially would not endanger our way of life, it would enrich it. Just as legalized marijuana did not turn Colorado into a colony of stoners, abolishing open container laws would not doom Los Angeles into becoming a playground of hedonism and gluttony but a stronger community of people coming together over a drink to share ideas in public spaces.

This weekend I encourage you to get out into the world and if you have a recyclable solo cup, I won't ask what's inside.