An initiative is headed to the November ballot to “modernize” Colorado’s liquor licensing and alcohol industry, allowing grocery stores and convenience stores to sell full-strength beer and wine if passed by the voters.

The measure would end Colorado’s 83-year rule that allows only 3.2 percent alcohol to be sold at such stores.

Proponents of the initiative say that Coloradans should have the ability to purchase beverages of their choice at their local markets where they are currently not permitted to do so.

The irony is not lost on some proponents. Colorado was the first state to legalize recreational marijuana, yet alcohol laws in the state have remained largely unchanged since the immediate post-Prohibition Era in 1933.

While usually politically progressive, Colorado is in the minority in this case. The only other states that maintain a 3.2 beer restriction are Utah, Kansas, Minnesota and Oklahoma — not the most progressive states.

Although the issue has been voted down in the state legislature time and again over the past five years, proponents at Colorado Consumers for Choice say that it is high time to take the issue directly to Coloradans.

Opponents of the initiative say not so fast. They suggest that the idea is simply a power grab by big-box retailers such as Wal-Mart, King Soopers and Safeway. They suggest that contrary to the argument that it will expand the craft beer market, the opposite will be true: craft breweries will have a difficult time gaining entry into large supermarkets where buyers are often hard to reach and big-named brands will be the order of the day.

Opponents such as Keep Colorado Local, which represents a coalition of local Colorado craft breweries and liquor stores, say that the initiative would cost 10,000 local jobs, $240 million in annual wages and that it would put 700 independent liquor stores out of business, according to a study commissioned by their group. Some of its members also suggest it would harm Colorado’s craft brewers who rely heavily upon local relationships with friends and neighbors to get product on the shelves quickly — an art form that would be lost in translation if the mass sales initiative passes.

But Your Choice Colorado argues that the expansion of sales will be good for all Coloradans. The organization points to their own economic study that shows that 200 new grocery stores would be created to support the demand, 22,000 new jobs would be added to Colorado’s economy, consumers would save both time and money, and that craft beer sales would actually increase by $125 million.

Which side should voters believe?

PolitiFact recently conducted a fact check on the initiative that shows both sides are somewhat correct in their assertions — the initiative will in fact benefit consumers with lower prices due to economies of scale that large retailers can deliver; but, if passed, the measure will hurt independent liquor stores which — for the better part of eight decades — have cornered the market on alcohol sales.

As with previous social-issue initiatives that have gone to the ballot such as medical marijuana and recreational pot, at some point in the course of history it becomes time to let the people decide. This election year, Coloradans just might be able to agree to drink to that.

— jennifer@coloradostatesman.com