The National Age Minimum for Alcohol Threatened?
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:28 PM

A bill is progressing in the Vermont Senate that would call for an examination of lowering the state's drinking age. Unless the feds alter their own legislation, any state that transgresses federal will by instituting a drinking age below 21 will pay -- to the tune of 10 percent of the state's share of federal highway funds. Nevertheless, there is revolt brewing in various state legislatures.

Vermont is the home of Middlebury College, whose former president has been an advocate for a lower minimum drinking age. He now directs Choose Responsibility, a nonprofit organization devoted to the cause. Here is part of the Waiver proposal from Choose Responsibility:

Choose Responsibility believes federal legislation should not penalize states who choose to participate in a pilot alcohol education program based on a minimum drinking age of 18. Thus, it is our belief that:

• States that present a plan for educating and licensing young adults that can maintain low levels of fatalities while lowering the drinking age ought to be granted a waiver of the 10% reduction penalty for a minimum of five years.
• States should create a mechanism to collect relevant data required to monitor the effects of the change in law.
• State should submit these statistics to Congress (or its designate), along with an analysis of the effects of the waiver from its inception, and may or may not request either an extension of he waiver.
• Individual state proposals must include the guidelines for eligibility and suspension of licenses proposed in the model program.

Vice Squad supports the end of the federal mandate on the minimum drinking age, though any transition period to a lower age could be tricky. Beyond Choose Responsibility's education and licensing suggestions, higher alcohol excise taxes could be used as a supplementary method to help limit teen drinking when a state abolishes its prohibition on 18 to 20-year-old drinking. (Vice Squad supports higher alcohol taxes generally, but another possibility might be to have an age-specific tax, where 18-20 year olds face higher taxes.) Also, the drinking age could be staggered, such that 19 and 20 year olds, for instance, could be licensed to purchase wine and beer, but not spirits.

New Zealand lowered its drinking age from 20 to 18 in 1999. Though there have been reports of increases in some types of alcohol-related harms, efforts to re-raise the age have not garnered sufficient political support.

Labels: alcohol, federalism, New Zealand, teens

 
The New Zealand Sex Industry
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 2:44 PM

One of the consequences of vice prohibition is that information about the extent and nature of the criminalised activity becomes degraded. People often aren't all that eager to discuss their vices in any event, but when their behavior is criminal, they are less likely to be forthcoming. So one advantage from the 2003 liberalisation of prostitution in New Zealand is that the size of the sex industry may be somewhat easier to gauge. The liberalising act required that this advantage be pressed, by mandating an initial survey of the sex industry, with later follow-ups to track changes. That initial assessment is now available.

The information was gathered by surveying police officers and by auditing advertisements for sexual services. The findings listed in the Executive Summary are sufficiently interesting that I will reproduce them in full. (These are the findings drawn from the police survey alone; there are separate findings for the ad audit):

* A total of 383 sex businesses were identified across New Zealand. Massage parlours represented the highest number of businesses (189) followed by escort agencies (101) and then rap/escort parlours (93).

* A total of 5,932[footnote deleted] sex workers were identified over the areas canvassed. Sex workers employed in massage parlours constituted nearly half of all sex workers (44%). Private workers followed in numbers accounting for 24% of sex workers. Street workers represented 11% of those working in the sex industry and sex workers in rap/escort parlours and escort agencies accounted for 10% each of the sex industry.

* Not surprisingly, sex businesses were concentrated in the Auckland Police District. There were comparatively few businesses in other police districts. Street workers were concentrated in the main centres and in particular in Auckland City and Counties-Manukau districts.

* Respondents estimated that on average 30% of street workers were transgender or transsexual. In comparison only 4% of private workers, 1% of escort agency workers and 1% of rap/escort parlour workers were identified as transgender/transsexual. Male sex workers were found primarily working on the streets, privately, or in escort agencies.

* It was estimated that there were around 200 sex workers under the age of 18 and over half (60%) were located in the street sector.

* Non-New Zealand sex workers were considered to be a significant issue in the greater Auckland area. These workers were predominantly from Thailand and China but other Asian countries were also represented.

* About a quarter of police respondents answered affirmatively when asked about exploitation of sex workers in their area. Forms of exploitation included a system of bonds and fines, use of drugs, and unreported crime against sex workers.

* About half of the police areas or districts responding to the survey indicated that they had a police officer with a portfolio dedicated to prostitution. However, in most of these cases the proportion of a person’s full-time portfolio dedicated to prostitution was very small. Police role included liaison, licensing/vetting of massage parlours, registration of sex workers and investigation of complaints.

The Ministry of Justice also prepared a helpful literature review on the New Zealand sex industry.

Labels: New Zealand, policing, prostitution, sex

 
Whew -- At Least Turbo-Yeast Was Not Involved
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:25 PM

There was a bit of a prison riot in New Zealand after some 20 inmates apparently partied with some home brew. Two guards were injured, though the toll doesn't seem all that high when compared with a weekend at many bars in the outside world.

The officer said a 20-litre bucket was found. "We don't know how much had been in it, it was empty when we found it."

The brew must have been very strong but the officer did not believe it had been made with turbo-yeast – which can produce strong alcohol practically overnight from fruit juice, corn, molasses, barley, wheat, and potato waste – as speculated.

Well it is a good thing they didn't get a hold of some of that turbo-yeast. Now what exactly is turbo-yeast? Well, it is pretty robust stuff that allows quick fermentation, even in less-than-optimal circumstances, and to alcohol concentration levels of 17%. (The old normal yeast begins to give up the ghost around 14%.) Still unsure of how turbo-yeast works? I think the diagrams provided by this turbo-yeast supplier give all the necessary detail.

Labels: alcohol, New Zealand

 
No Prostitution Reform Repeal Referendum in New Zealand
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:42 PM

In June, 2003, by a one-vote margin, the New Zealand Parliament passed a prostitution policy reform measure that "legalised street soliciting and decriminalised brothel keeping, pimping and living off the earnings of prostitution..." A campaign to collect signatures to force a referendum on the reform began immediately. Some 273,000 (10 percent of the electorate) signatures were needed, but organisers were "only" able to collect 200,000 or so signatures; so, no repeal measure will appear on the upcoming ballot for parliamentary elections.

The MP who sponsored the reform legislation maintains a website devoted to the issue. A one-year post-legislation assessment is included on the site, as is a series of questions and answers. Here's a sample:

Why not criminalise the clients instead?

It wouldn't work. In practice it would force sex workers to work in more dangerous ways and places, in order to protect their clients, who are their source of income.

Kerb-crawling laws in Britain (which penalise street clients) have made things more difficult for street workers. They dare not take so long to assess the prospective client before joining him in his car. This increases the risk of assault.

Labels: harm reduction, New Zealand, prostitution

 
Prostitution, Britain, and New Zealand
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 7:35 PM

Prostitution per se is legal in Britain, though related activities like streetwalking and solicitation are not legal. Britain is in the midst of looking anew at its prostitution policies, with an eye towards creating managed zones where streetwalking would be tolerated and services provided to prostitutes, and possibly even to licensing brothels. A gathering of sex workers took place in London last weekend, for the purpose of discussing desirable reforms. Some sex worker groups, such as the English Collective of Prostitutes, believe that the proposed liberalisations do not go far enough -- they support complete decriminalisation instead. New Zealand recently decriminalised prostitution. Catherine Healey, of the New Zealand Prostitutes' Collective (NZPC), attended the London meeting:

Ms Healey, a former primary school teacher, says she and her NZPC colleagues started the campaign for decriminalisation out of a sense of injustice. "I was charged with soliciting but contested it because a conviction sticks with you and inhibits your movement in and out of the sex industry. It certainly shut the door on teaching for me, not that I minded." Now they are no longer members of an illegal industry, sex workers have a lot more personal security and bargaining power, Ms Healey says. "Since the change in the law, people feel they can approach the police and report violence. And it has changed the dynamics between sex workers and clients."

Labels: Britain, New Zealand, policing, prostitution

 
New Zealand Vice News
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 3:01 PM

A generous Vice Squad reader -- no doubt perplexed by the sudden abandonment of even the pretense of blogging here at VS -- sends us this story about a case being dismissed from a New Zealand court. The case sprung from a tragedy in which a 19-year old man died after injuring his head while playing "Bullrush" in a bar. The person who served alcohol to the group in the bar was charged with four counts, including serving alcohol to an intoxicated person and allowing disorderly conduct. The judge threw out the case, citing a lack of evidence of intoxication and the norm of barroom horseplay. (The judge apparently referred to "shenanigans," not "horseplay".)

Also in New Zealand, where brothel prostitution has recently been decriminalized, a high school yearbook has been suppressed for its vicious content: "The book features students' hopes about what they would like to do when they are older - including suggestions such as brothel worker, drug lord, dope dealer, dope packer, stripper, pimp, beneficiary, druggie and 'living on the street'." High schoolers - what a bunch of cards! Fortunately, a vigilant parent raised the alarm, and the book was recalled after just one day of release. But the incident provided an opening for those who are protecting social standards:

The Society for the Promotion of Community Standards said today in a statement the Prostitution Reform Bill, which was passed earlier this year and decriminalised prostitution, created a climate in which students viewed prostitution, pimping and stripping as attractive and viable forms of legal work.

The yearbook probably represented the values of many young people, it said.

"Society must recognise that such values do not emerge from a vacuum. The glamorisation of drug-taking, sexual promiscuity, crime and sexual deviancy, in all forms of the media, has taken its toll on our children and young people," the statement said.

It said MPs and censors needed to be more responsible in their decisions.

For those who are interested in applying to the school, here's the relevant link. The motto on the school's home page?: 'Challenging all students to reach their maximum potential in a safe and caring environment.' Well, their socially-approved maximum potential.

Perhaps, like Vice Squad, you have no idea what Bullrush is. I wouldn't recommend the OED on this one; instead, here's a 14-page pdf that describes more variants than you could possibly care to know about (including "creeping up" variants -- yuk.) It turns out that Bullrush is similar to Red Rover; maybe it's a rounders/baseball sort of thing.

Labels: alcohol, New Zealand, prostitution, teens

 
New Zealand Reconsiders Drinking Age Reduction
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 4:27 PM

In 199, New Zealand lowered its minimum drinking age from 20 to 18. A sharp increase in the number of alcohol-related hospital admissions for kids aged 10-14 has led some folks to suggest a return to the higher drinking age. (The absolute numbers of such admissions remain small -- 73 admissions from 2000 to 2002 -- but the percentage increase is large.) A trend toward more drinking by females is also evident.

The new information from New Zealand runs counter to some earlier evidence that younger kids were not drinking more after the minimum age was lowered.

Higher minimum drinking ages can be effective at reducing some alcohol-related harms. In the US, I think that the federally-mandated (more-or-less) drinking age of 21 is too high; I'd favor something like 19, at least for beer and wine, but I would even more favor letting states make their own decisions on this. (And any transition to a lower age would have to be carefully handled.) Meanwhile, Vice Squad continues its long tradition of not offering any advice to the New Zealots.

Labels: alcohol, New Zealand, teens

 
Two Blogospheric Updates
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 8:45 AM

(1) In March we mentioned the attempt in Toledo, Ohio, to avoid a public smoking ban by converting a tavern into a "charity"; it didn't fly in the courts. Prof. Bainbridge has more; hat tip to the Volokh Conspiracy. (2) Last weekend we mentioned New Zealand's state guide for prostitutes; on Thursday, Marginal Revolution had more on this story.

Labels: New Zealand, prostitution, smoking ban

 
This Weekend's Comparative Prostitution News
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:47 PM

(1) Everett, Washington: "19 Busted in Prostitution Sting" (2) Odessa, Texas: "67 surrender so far in prostitution case" (Fort Worth Star-Telegram, registration required.) (3) Auckland, New Zealand: "NZ issues guide for prostitutes." A sample from the linked article:

THE New Zealand government, having taken the step of legalising prostitution, has now issued a guide for sex workers. The 100-page Occupational Safety and Health guide to safe sex practices has been launched on a government website with the caution: "Warning: this document contains sexually explicit material". The recommendations - which the New Zealand Herald said today will also be distributed to brothels and sex workers - include detailed advice on safe sex practices such as the storage and handling of sex toys and disinfecting equipment.

This safety and health guide follows the earlier government guide concerning how to open a brothel.

Labels: harm reduction, New Zealand, policing, prostitution

 
New Zealand's Lower Drinking Age
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:30 PM

The de facto national drinking age of 21 in the US is, in my opinion, too high. I would probably support a reduction in the minimum drinking age to 19, or perhaps a two-tiered age, with beer and wine available at 18 or 19 and spirits available at 21. But I recognize that any change along these lines would require great care, particularly in trying to keep teenagers from driving while impaired. The adoption of 21 as the minimum drinking age did result in fewer drunk-driving deaths and injuries. (And in many other ways I think that alcohol could be more closely regulated in the US, and taxed more heavily.)

In 1999, New Zealand (which like the US, UK, and many other countries, has a problem with binge drinking by younger imbibers) lowered its drinking age from 20 to 18. On Monday, the Justice Ministry issued a report on the change: "It found that:

* There has been no increase in the number of 16 and 17-year-olds drinking alcohol since 1999 but they are drinking larger volumes and more often.

* The number of 18 and 19-year-olds drinking increased slightly, and the average amount drunk on each occasion rose from five to seven drinks.

* The number of under 18-year-olds apprehended by police for drinking in public jumped from 834 in 1994 to 2597 in 2002.

* There has been a slight rise in under 18-year-old drunk drivers since 1999.

* Apprehensions of under 18-year-olds in bars have decreased since 1999, as has the number of minors apprehended buying alcohol from off-licence premises."

It is heartening to see that the lowering of the drinking age was accomplished without a rise in the number of 16 and 17 year olds drinking, though less happy is the increased consumption of those who do imbibe. It looks as if a better job could have been done in implementing the reform on combating drunk driving and binge drinking.

Here's the newspaper article that the quoted material is taken from; here's the Justice Ministry report.

Labels: alcohol, driving, New Zealand, teens

 
Taking the LEAP Message to New Zealand
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 11:37 PM

"A visiting former Scotland Yard drugs boss is calling for all drugs, from marijuana and methamphetamines to cocaine and opiates, to be legalised." The quote comes from this report that was kindly brought to our attention by a friend of Vice Squad. The ex-officer is visiting New Zealand and Australia with a group from Law Enforcement Against Prohibition.

Labels: drugs, New Zealand

 
Wine to Water? Binge Tax Catches An Unlikely Consumer
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 5:30 PM

Ounce for ounce, wine and beer, thanks to their lower alcohol content, tend to be less problematic than strong liquor. Public policy can be well served by encouraging substitution from hard liquor to wine and beer.

Standard wine rarely has an alcohol content greater than 14%, as to achieve those levels, fermentation alone is insufficient: distillation or addition of higher potency alcohol is required. So, New Zealand's attempt to discourage the use of harder liquors by raising taxes on drinks above 14% alcohol, looked like a measure that would benefit wine makers and have little impact on wine drinkers. But it turns out that one surprising segment of the market had been using higher alcohol (and now more highly taxed) wine: churches. It seems that many churches used higher alcohol wine because they engage in the opposite of bingeing: the high alcohol content helps preserve wine in bottles that will not be emptied for months. The tax increase has caused some of these churches to switch to lower alcohol wine, as they can no longer afford their traditional altar tipple.

Labels: alcohol, New Zealand, taxes

 
Legalizing Brothel Prostitution
- posted by Jim Leitzel @ 9:43 PM

In recent days Vice Squad has noted debates about legalizing
prostitution in Las Vegas and Thailand. A Vice Squad reader
temporarily located in New Zealand kindly has sent along an e-mail
mentioning that New Zealand has recently decided to legalize
brothels. Prior to the June, 2003 Prostitution Reform Bill,
prostitution itself was legal in New Zealand, though soliciting
and brothels were illegal. (This is similar to the British regulatory
structure, I believe.) The new law permits legal brothels, and some
should be opening by the end of the year.
Belgium and Italy are also considering legalizing brothels, and some
Australian states have already done so, as the previous Heidi Fleiss
post suggested. The Netherlands, of course, also has legal brothels.

Labels: New Zealand, prostitution