Summary: The Baltimore City Council is considering a major overhaul of the city’s zoning code that would reduce the density of liquor stores to promote healthier neighborhoods. The proposal, informed by a Johns Hopkins study, has caused an uproar among liquor store owners who feel they are being unfairly blamed for violence and poor health. We examine the controversy with Debra Furr-Holden, Hopkins epidemiologist and director of the Drug Investigations, Violence, and Environmental Studies Laboratory; Terrell Williams, organizer for BUILD in East Baltimore; and Bob Dashiell, lawyer for the Korean-American Grocers & Licensed Beverage Association of Maryland, Inc.
