Amazon Joins Big Alcohol
Amazon has joined Big Alcohol and will soon be delivering alcohol to customers in San Francisco.
The online retailing giant has filed a licensing request with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to allow the company to sell beer, wine and hard liquor in the city. If approved Amazon plans to start delivering alcohol from its Prime Now warehouse in San Francisco. Alcohol delivery can start possibly within a matter of months.
Amazon made the filing to supervisors on April 10, 2019. According to the filing, Amazon also intends on opening a 200-square-foot storefront from which consumers could buy alcohol directly, in addition to operating its delivery service. The filing was done through the law firm of Strike & Techel.
If the filing is approved, Amazon said it would operate its storefront from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. daily, while deliveries would be made from 8 a.m. until midnight every day.
If the proposal passes, San Francisco would join cities such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston and Washington, D.C., as places where Amazon already makes alcohol deliveries.
If accepted the proposal would drastically increase availability of alcohol, no doubt leading to an increase in alcohol harm. WHO advises restricting availability as one of the focus areas of WHO alcohol policy best buys in controlling alcohol harm.
With all these moves, Amazon is clearly joining Big Alcohol, especially since April 2019 when Amazon hired an alcohol lobbyist.