The downside to Washington's privatization of hard liquor retail? The News Tribune reports that emergency rooms are seeing an uptick in the number of alcohol-related visits, according to preliminary results from a report released by the state Liquor Control Board. Researchers saw 50 percent more alcohol-related visits to emergency rooms in King County between June and September 2013.Among underaged Medicaid enrollees, there were nearly 400 more visits than expected. So where are kids getting access to alcohol? Compliance checks show that private liquor stores sell to minors 6-9 percent of the time, which isn't remarkably different than the 7 percent of minors who could purchase alcohol at compliance checks of state-run liquor stores. Instead, researchers say there seems to be an increase in alcohol theft among minors, although they haven't yet established firm numbers. — M.L.
Alcohol emergencies rise
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By Floyd McKay
Floyd J. McKay, professor of journalism emeritus at Western Washington University, was a print and broadcast journalist in Oregon for three decades. He is also a historian and his new book, "Reporting
Floyd J. McKay, professor of journalism emeritus at Western Washington University, was a print and broadcast journalist in Oregon for three decades. He is also a historian and his new book, "Reporting