Government is good at creating unintended consequences.
Recently the state of Maryland made it illegal to sell grain alcohol that is 190 proof or more (95% abv). University presidents felt is led to sexual assaults and binge drinking, bad things that they wanted to reduce. That’s reasonable.
However, now life is difficult for violinists in the state. They use 190 proof alcohol to make varnishes to restore their instruments. Their supplier of choice is Everclear sold by Luxco. They can’t switch to 150 proof because of the water content. Seems that cake bakers use grain alcohol, too, we’re not sure why, but they can use the lower proof without problem
The nearby states of Virginia, West Virginia and Pennsylvania also ban190 proof, but relief is at hand for the violinists. They can apply for a permit and if successful, they are exempted from the ban.
Our question to the state of Maryland and the university presidents is, if 190 proof is so corrupting and dangerous (and we’re not arguing that it isn’t), why do you allow 150 proof?
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