This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Why can't we just put liquor stores where alcoholics won't find them?

There are many reasons to move Salt Lake City's downtown liquor store to a newer, better location, but trying to cut off supply to homeless drinkers is not a very good one.

This is Utah's version of the drug wars. Remember when drinkers just faced the Zion Curtain and one liquor store for every 50,000 people? Now we have the lowest DUI limit in the nation and, perhaps, no more beer in grocery stores, where about 90 percent of beer is sold.

Meanwhile, the Utah Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control reports sales are at an all-time high, outpacing population growth for the last several years. It seems supply interdiction isn't working.

One supposes that closing the downtown store would be good news for anyone who sells alternatives to the homeless, like spice or heroin. And, of course, beer will continue to be available at convenience stores — at least until the Road Home shelter closes in two years.

And that is how long it would take to replace the downtown store anyway.

The situation around the Road Home shelter is bad and getting worse, and McAdams rightly recognizes the solution is really a lot of solutions. If the store was just supplying that population, he would have a better argument. But this store, known as Store No. 1, is the eighth busiest DABC outlet in the state, serving a large population of workers and residents in downtown Salt Lake City.

The vast majority of patrons are responsible people who care just as much about the homeless crisis as McAdams does. They also wouldn't mind a new store, although they may be dubious about whether it can be hidden from the homeless population.

By the way, one of the new homeless shelters, at 275 W. High Street, will be about half the walking distance from the 280 West Harris Ave. liquor store that the Road Home shelter is from the 400 South store. Does McAdams want to get going now on that closure campaign?

Liquor store locations can and should be regulated for public safety, but let's not refight the drug wars. Let's fund treatment and effective ways to give people hope beyond the bottle. Otherwise, they'll just keep showing up at liquor stores, wherever they are.