Letter to the Editor: Privatizing liquor could prove bad for kids

In the upcoming election we will vote on two initiatives, either of which, if passed, would be very bad for our kids here on Vashon. I would like to urge voters to vote against them.

Initiatives 1100 and 1105 would both privatize liquor sales in Washington state, increasing retail outlets for hard liquor from the present 340 to as many as 5,000.

Vashon’s Healthy Communities survey has informed us that our kids already report using alcohol at a rate much much higher that the state average for youth.

The passage of either or both of these initiatives will increase illegal sales of hard liquor to kids by as much as 400 percent according to the Washington State Auditor.

As an educator who has spent 20 years directly concerned with the problems of teen drug use, I have seen way too many times the catastrophe and carnage of drugs, especially alcohol, on my students. I urge Vashon voters to help in the effort to keep them healthy by voting no on I-1100 and 1105.

— James W. Hauser