Students Urge Washington AG to Investigate Online Alcohol Retailers
Several underaged Gonzaga University students were able to easily
purchase alcohol over the Internet, and are calling on Washington
Attorney General Christine Gregoire to investigate the online companies
that sold and delivered alcohol to minors, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
reported Aug. 9.
"Despite being underage, we were able to buy alcohol unchallenged
from respected companies selling wine like Costco.com to less-known
Internet sites that sell all forms of alcohol, including hard liquor,"
said Paul Schafer, president of Gonzaga's chapter of Collegians
for a Constructive Tomorrow, the student organization that conducted
the experiment.
The students said all they needed to purchase the alcohol was a
credit card and a computer. The sites didn't ask for age confirmation,
and the deliveries of liquor, beer and wine came without anyone
questioning their ages.
"We believe the attorney general is not doing her job in enforcing
an equal standard of the law," Schafer said. "A liquor-store
owner will be fined and may lose his or her license if alcohol is
sold to a minor, but there are no consequences, or no one checking,
for the Internet retailers."
Under Washington law, selling hard liquor online is illegal. Only
limited online sales of wine is allowed.
Gregoire's staff said the attorney general has not decided on a
course of action in response to the Gonzaga request. Previously,
Gregoire indicated her support for allowing interstate shipment
of wines nationwide.
Bob Burdick, spokesman for the Washington State Liquor Control
Board, said, "If tequila is being sold online, it's being sold
illegally. We'd be very concerned about that."
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