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Drinking alcohol in public

6K views 40 replies 20 participants last post by  TSAPET 
#1 ·
Is there anyone else who's perturbed by the fact that it's illegal to drink in public places in this province (and I believe country as a whole)? I mean, especially in the summer it's especially refreshing to walk down the street with an ice cold beer in-hand. How the government could get away with forcing such a fascist law is beyond me (what ever happened to 'life, liberty and security of the person'?).

And just to rub it in, we're in, what seems to me, one of the few places in the world where only the government sells liquor and beer (and taxes the crap out of it and makes excessive profits from the sale of it through its self-granted monopoly).

I've inconspicuously ignored this law on occasion but now I think it's time for some serious civil disobedience. What do you think?
 
#3 ·
Notice how you start this thread on a hot summer day.

Seriously, your right. We should have more lax laws to drinking outdoors. I personally don't agree with being able to drink ANYWHERE outside. Examples, residential streets and the likes.

However, in and around bars and entertainment venues, I would be more open to that. I remember in Europe you had swarms of people in the downtown bar district standing and drinking on the street by the bar wheere they bought the beer. Very civilized, but also liberating
 
#5 ·
Well it being such a nice, hot day makes me think about this even more!

I think that you should be able to drink pretty much anywhere. Afterall, they allow people to smoke anywhere outdoors don't they? I think this is more disturbing to others than drinking is.

But yeah, I was in Europe not too long ago and every time I'm there it reminds me even more of how ridiculous our laws on this are.
 
#7 ·
Hey Marathon, how is this treated in Chicago? I've been in a few places in the US where it's okay as long as you keep it in a paper bag. Pretty ridiculous, but better than nothing I suppose (the paper bag trick doesn't work here, not to mention that it would make you look like a bum).
 
#9 ·
That would be a nice, small step in the right direction. However, I don't see any reason why we should be told that we can't down ANY street with a beer in-hand. The point is not really needing a place to go to in order to drink outside, but to be able have a drink while walking to some destination, if you choose.
 
#10 ·
Captain Hilts said:
Hey Marathon, how is this treated in Chicago? I've been in a few places in the US where it's okay as long as you keep it in a paper bag. Pretty ridiculous, but better than nothing I suppose (the paper bag trick doesn't work here, not to mention that it would make you look like a bum).
Well, I never lived in the city proper, but we never had trouble taking a walk around the suburban neghborhood carrying an alcoholic beverage in hand...no paper bag required.
 
#12 ·
In Denmark, there are very relaxed laws about walking around the streets with alcohol. I really enjoyed being able to have one for the road with no hassle.

If the city gets the ability to make laws without going through the province, it could very well be a possibility that alcohol laws with in the city could be relaxed.
 
#14 ·
one of my favorite passtimes, drinking in public, last weekend i was walking down cook st in victoria with a bottle of wine, right after i had eight kokanees, a good time was had by all
 
#16 ·
It might sound silly but glass bottles are a big thing that many governing bodies worry about.

If a set of rules could be established that exluded booze in glass containers, there is really no harm in making this sort of dealy legal.
 
#19 ·
I wanna go to Hess Village! I turn 19 July 13th! I think my bro is taking my downtown Toronto though!

I think drinking in public should be allowed. I could see a problem because of broken glass, but maybe atleast plastic/aluminum could be permitted.
 
#22 ·
I think the problem is that too many people would abuse the privaledge to drink outside in public. I'm sure most people would be civilized about it but I know you would get groups of animals that just caused total chaos. It's truie because I would probably be one of them. I've been in lots of countries where its fine to drink in public and i've never witnessed any problems tho.
 
#23 ·
RyanNS said:
I think the problem is that too many people would abuse the privaledge to drink outside in public. I'm sure most people would be civilized about it but I know you would get groups of animals that just caused total chaos. It's truie because I would probably be one of them. I've been in lots of countries where its fine to drink in public and i've never witnessed any problems tho.
Yeah even if this was the case, it's no reason to take away a basic right of everyone else.

Anyway, we would just be able to deal with that by giving fines or arresting those who cause the chaos, rather than tell everyone that they can't enjoy a cold, refreshing beer on a hot summer day while walking the streets of the city.
 
#24 ·
Steeltown said:
In Hamilton there's Hess Village and your allowed to drink anywhere in that area. Stuff like this I'm cool with. Hess Village is sort of like Bourbon Street in New Orleans.



Notice the beer cans on their hands
Steeltowm you are sending a slightly skewed message... you can only drink on the street in Hess when there is a special occasion and they close the street off. Most of the time you can only drink in the different bars, finish your drink then hop to the next one... I know in there almost every weekend. :cheers:
 
#26 ·
We need to ease up on the drinking issue. Sure, there is always some twit that can't handle their booze but the vast majority of people are well behaved. Kitchener's Octoberfest usually goes off without too much drama (ok, so it doesn't happen in Victoria Park on a 35C day) and the free public transit is a good idea.
 
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