Pill ban could increase boozing – Rotorua Daily Post – 2008-03-31 13:58:00.0 – localnews
Jim Anderton’s ban BZP crusade ably abetted by Miss Ban-DHMO Jacqui Dean appears to have spectacularly backfired and suffered from the law of unintended consequences. Check out this telling statement from Reg Hennessy from the Hospitality Association of NZ.
Reg Hennessy, the Hospitality Association of New Zealand (HANZ) Bay of Plenty president, said he was behind the ban of party pills and hoped licensed premises would get more business out of former pill takers.
“I don’t think our young people need anything else to stick down their throats to make them half loopy.
“Also there is no tax on them so nothing is going back to the Government. At least with smokes and alcohol it makes money to go towards fixing things further down the track.”
Mr Hennessy doubted many, if any, of his patrons at Hennessy’s Irish Bar used party pills as they were an older and more visitor-focussed crowd.
However, he said night clubs and dance bars that attracted more young people might notice patrons drinking a little more.
“I would like to think so,” he said.
I wonder how Anderton feels now, being the flunky of the booze industry. Passing a law that the HANZ hopes will make more people into drunks. As for his cynical statement about young people not “needing anything else to stick down their throats”, presumably he means except for alcohol.
If that isn’t a vested interest I don’t know what is. I think I will be scrutinizing P the Progressives Electoral return this year very closely.
Technorati Tags: vested interests, booze, bzp
