Louisiana police have charged a man with impaired driving after his car slammed into a crowd during a community parade on Saturday, injuring several people, some critically.
Louisiana State Police said they arrested Todd Landry, 57, and charged him with driving while impaired, 18 counts of first-degree negligent injuring and careless operation following the incident in New Iberia, Louisiana.
He is also accused of having an open container with an alcoholic beverage in the vehicle.
The incident occurred during a Lao New Year celebration, the Louisiana State Police said in a statement.
&#8220;Multiple pedestrians&#8221; were struck by the vehicle as Landry drove it, police said.
Earlier, the Iberia Parish Sheriff’s Office said at least 15 people had been injured.
Landry showed signs of impairment, and a breath sample showed he had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.137%, police said. The legal BAC limit for drivers in most U.S. states is 0.08%.
Reuters could not determine if Landry had a lawyer.
Acadian Ambulance posted on social media that it transported 13 people to the hospital. Two of them were airlifted, the ambulance service wrote on X.
Organizers of the Louisiana Lao New Year Festival said on Facebook they were cancelling Saturday evening&#8217;s music concerts, as well as alcohol sales.
&#8220;We are profoundly saddened by the news of the incident near the festival grounds,&#8221; the organizers said on Facebook. &#8220;We are praying for the victims and for their families during this difficult time.&#8221;
The three-day festival held every Easter weekend includes live music, parades and other activities celebrating the Lao New Year.
(Reporting by Noel Randewich in San Francisco; Editing by Sergio Non, Matthew Lewis and Kevin Buckland)

Police lights

Over A Dozen Injured After Drunk Driver Plows Into Parade Crowd

Alcohol

Crime

Drunk Driving

Louisiana

U.S.

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This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
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As the resident wino and oenophile in my orbit, I am routinely confronted with the same question: “What would you pair this with?” It is a reasonable inquiry, given wine’s ability to elevate and enhance meals, creating something greater and more memorable than the mere sum of its parts.
Yet too often people approach pairing as though they are defusing an explosive — as if pouring a Riesling alongside a steak might trigger a detonation. Terrified of such imaginary calamities, they cling to trite dicta such as “red with meat, white with fish” as though the rule were dictated through decree (it isn’t). Wine pairing is less about dogma than about balance, contrast, and texture. Here are a few principles — and specific examples — to make the exercise more pleasurable than paralyzing.
First, let’s talk about why pairings work. Certain structural elements in the wine bind to or cut through elements in the food. There is decidedly some chemistry involved, but we are here to talk drinking. Structurally, wines are composed of acidity, sugar, alcohol, and tannin (for red wines). As a grape develops on the vine and approaches harvest, its natural acidity declines while sugars increase; in general, wines from cooler climates retain more acidity than those from warmer regions.
Acidity lends wine its freshness and makes your mouth water — which is why high-acid wines also excel as aperitifs. The next time you take a sip, swirl it, swallow, and tilt your head down. Notice the saliva pooling along the sides of your tongue. The more pronounced the sensation, the higher the acidity. Acidity cuts through fat, salt, and umami, making it a natural partner for food.
Sparkling wines rank among the highest in acidity and are astonishingly versatile — equally at home with such ritzy entrées as oysters and caviar, working-man foods like fried chicken or pizza, and everything in between, from risotto to sushi and spicy Thai dishes.
Without descending into the technical thickets, think of sparkling wine in two broad camps: prosecco (tank method) and champagne (traditional method). The former tends toward lighter, fruit-driven styles. The latter yields wines that are richer, creamier, and often layered with notes of brioche, butter, and toasted hazelnut.
One of the few pairing rules worth keeping is to match the weight of the wine to the weight of the food. A delicate wine such as an aromatic Sauvignon Blanc will be steamrolled by a fatty ribeye, and a heavy wine such as a full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon will swallow up something subtle like a halibut fillet. Among my favorite pairings is the high-low contrast of rich, indulgent fried chicken with a powerful champagne. Along the same lines, greasy but simple snacks like Lay’s potato chips or buttered popcorn pair beautifully with a light, cheerful prosecco.
“Champagne,” of course, is legally confined to its namesake French region. But the method that produces it is hardly proprietary. Traditional-method sparkling wine is made across the globe — often at a fraction of the cost. In France, it is labeled Crémant (Loire for Chenin Blanc; Bourgogne for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay). Spain produces Cava from Penedès. South Africa calls its version Cap Classique. And California increasingly turns out bottles that can hold their own.
Beyond bubbly, Riesling is another favorite grape flush with acidity. Its spiritual home is Germany — where the only thing more complicated than the parliamentary system is the wine classification scheme — but excellent examples also emerge from Alsace, Austria, and New York State, which has been producing increasingly compelling bottlings in recent years. Riesling spans the full spectrum of sweetness, from bone-dry to lusciously sweet dessert styles. My preferred pairing is to contrast an off-dry Riesling (just a touch of residual sugar) with a spicy Asian dish.
Another common pairing mistake is fixating on the protein (steak, chicken, fish) while ignoring preparation and sauce. The same cut of meat can behave entirely differently depending on whether it is grilled, braised, fried, or bathed in cream.
Take Chardonnay. It is one of the world’s most widely planted grapes and perhaps the most stylistically elastic. In cooler climates, it can be high in acidity with notes of citrus, green apple, and salinity. In warmer regions, it turns richer and more tropical. When aged in oak, it takes on baking spice, vanilla, and a creamy texture. An austere, high-acid Chardonnay may complement oysters or roasted chicken. A fuller-bodied, oak-aged expression can stand comfortably alongside cheeseburgers or creamy pasta.
What distinguishes red wine from white is contact with the grape skins during fermentation — and if you’ve ever heard hipsters clamour about “orange wine,” that is simply white wine similarly fermented on its skins. Those skins provide color — and, more importantly, tannin. With few exceptions, the thicker the skins, the richer and darker the wines.
If you’re unsure what tannin feels like, try this. Take a grape from the grocery store and gently peel away the skin. Eat the skin on its own. You’ll notice a drying, slightly puckering sensation along your gums and cheeks. That’s tannin. When you eat the whole grape, the juicy pulp softens that effect, and the natural acidity keeps everything in balance.
Tannins bind to proteins in your food, softening their grip and allowing the savory elements of the dish to emerge. It’s why a tannic Cabernet can feel abrasive on its own yet suddenly supple beside a well-marbled steak.
Red wines span a broad structural spectrum. Some lean toward darker, black-fruited intensity — Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah, for example. Others are lighter, more red-fruited and translucent in character, such as Pinot Noir, Gamay, or Nebbiolo. In between sit grapes like Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Grenache, and Tempranillo, offering varying degrees of weight, tannin, and fruit expression.
As always, when pairing wine with food, match the weight of the wine to the weight of the dish. Gamay — most famously from France’s Beaujolais region, though increasingly compelling examples emerge from Oregon’s Willamette Valley and Ontario’s Niagara — is a favorite for its affordability and versatility. Bright in acidity and modest in tannin, it pairs effortlessly with pan-seared salmon, roast chicken, most salads, or a decadent cheeseboard.
If you’re hankering for something richer to pair with something like barbecue, look no further than the southern Rhône’s Grenache-driven blends. These wines are plush, spice-laced, and comfortably at home beside smoke and char (also delightfully affordable). Southern Italy’s Primitivo — the same grape as California’s Zinfandel — offers a similarly ripe, generous profile, with enough structure and body to stand up to sauce-slathered ribs, brisket, or burgers.
And if meat isn’t your preference, southern Rhône reds still shine alongside such vegetarian options as charred eggplant, roasted beets, or sautéed mushrooms. Lighter reds such as Pinot Noir are classic companions for mushroom risotto, where Pinot’s signature “forest floor” and earthy notes complement those of the dish. Another useful technique is to match aromas and flavors in the glass with those on the plate.
Whatever red you ultimately choose, be sure to chill it slightly; most people drink their reds far too warm. “Room temperature” refers to the drafty halls of a medieval French castle, not a modern, climate-controlled and insulated house or condominium. Twenty minutes in the refrigerator before serving will bring most reds into the ideal range — around 60°F (15–16°C) — preserving freshness and sharpening acidity.
The permutations for wine pairings are effectively limitless. There are countless grapes and styles not mentioned here (forgive me if I omitted your favorite). But the guiding principles remain the same: Think about structure, think about weight, think about balance — though ultimately, drink the wines you love. The only real rule is to experiment, embrace curiosity, and trust your palate.
***
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<div>Harry Khachatrian (<a id="m_-7119270630050330193OWAe87a8ee1-a684-7aca-372c-009e69903ab6" href="https://x.com/harry1t6" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://x.com/harry1t6&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1772906509463000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1cLdPQ1A58j2lpa7sbYLRq">@Harry1T6</a>) is a film critic for the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a software engineer, holds a master’s degree from the University of Toronto, and writes about wine at <a id="m_-7119270630050330193OWAdade66a6-473c-7369-d06c-bfcdbf04a80b" href="https://www.betweenbottles.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.betweenbottles.com/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1772906509463000&amp;usg=AOvVaw3IoDuIrrIalzrOgojsQbsH">BetweenBottles.com</a>.</div>
<div></div>
<div>The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.</div>

Wine degustation

The Wine-Pairing Myth Beginners Need To Forget

Upstream

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/introducing-upstream-a-lifestyle-and-culture-section-of-the-daily-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream,</a> The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Young people are normally the first to pick up on trends, and that is certainly the case when it comes to resisting the harms of alcohol consumption. <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx">Gallup reports</a> a record low rate of drinking across demographics in 2025. But the decline among young adults has been underway for more than a decade. Generation Z, loosely defined as those between 15 and 30, has driven much of that drop, with drinking rates falling nine percentage points <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/693362/drinking-rate-new-low-alcohol-concerns-surge.aspx">since 2023 alone</a>. Only half report drinking alcohol at all.
As someone who began binge drinking in young adulthood and is now five years sober, I find this encouraging. It also raises an obvious question: Why is Gen Z drinking less than the generations before them? 
<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3505028/">Research shows</a> it’s due in part to public health campaigns about the dangers of drinking. Gen Z is the first generation to grow up fully immersed in the internet and social media. For all the documented downsides — chronicled in books such as Jonathan Haidt’s The Anxious Generation — constant connectivity has also meant constant exposure to research. Studies linking alcohol to <a href="https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/alcohol/alcohol-fact-sheet">cancer</a>, cardiovascular disease, anxiety, and depression are no longer niche warnings. They circulate widely.
That kind of information changes people. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freely-Sober-Rethinking-Alcohol-Through/dp/1514013363/">As I write in Freely Sober</a>, one of the first cracks in my own drinking habits came not from shame or social pressure, but from learning what alcohol was actually doing to my body. For many, the path away from drinking begins not with moral awakening, but with hard data.
Inspired by the rise of the modern “non-toxic” wellness movement, Americans who once shrugged at ingredient labels now lobby Congress to remove food dyes and plastics from their children’s snacks. Even those wary of the MAHA brand cannot deny that public scrutiny of harmful substances has increased.
And once you start questioning Red Dye 40, it becomes harder to ignore that Merlot is fundamentally ethanol — a chemically intoxicating substance associated with long-term health risks. Gen Z has seen the data showing that <a href="https://newsroom.csun.edu/2026/02/17/rates-of-us-alcohol-induced-deaths-nearly-doubled-from-1999-2024-says-study-by-csun-prof/">alcohol-related deaths have nearly doubled</a> over the past 25 years. Many have watched parents and grandparents struggle with addiction or its ripple effects. The social costs are no longer abstract.
There are social shifts at play as well. Alcohol has traditionally functioned as a social lubricant. But in-person socialization has declined dramatically over the past two decades, a trend accelerated by COVID-19 in 2020. <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/surgeon-general-social-connection-advisory.pdf">According to federal data</a>, Americans now spend roughly 20 fewer hours per month with friends than they did in 2003. Less face-to-face interaction may mean less perceived need for “liquid courage.” Bars close earlier. Nights out are replaced with evenings at home.
Other health trends may contribute. The <a href="https://www.pacificoaks.edu/voices/psychology/gen-z-view-on-mental-health/">rise in prescription medications</a> for anxiety and depression, many of which warn against alcohol use, likely factors in. So do financial pressures. With inflation pushing a single beer to eight or 10 dollars, alcohol can feel both unhealthy and unaffordable. Millennials rejected cigarettes in part because they were costly and toxic; Gen Z may be making a similar calculation about alcohol.
Substitution may also be occurring. Marijuana is now legal in more than half of the country. THC-infused drinks are sold in dispensaries, restaurants, liquor stores, and even non-alcoholic retailers. Edibles — particularly gummies — are popular among young people, though <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/10/health/cannabis-poisoning-children.html">not without risk</a>. Some data suggest rising marijuana use correlates <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/heavy-drinkers-cut-alcohol-use-nearly-30-after-adopting-one-new-habit-study-finds">with reduced alcohol consumption</a>.
Substitution alone, however, doesn’t fully explain what’s happening.
For most of modern history, drinking was framed as a harmless pleasure, even a social necessity, largely free of moral scrutiny. But anyone personally affected by alcohol’s harms — through abuse, illness, or addiction — knows that narrative was always incomplete. Alcohol is not merely a benign, morally neutral substance. It can devastate bodies, families, and communities.
Members of Gen Z are not stepping away from alcohol because they are prudish or joyless. It may be that they are rejecting it because they see clearly what previous generations preferred not to — and because they live in a world where the health data is unavoidable. They’re also much more attuned to how mental health is affected by alcohol.
In an age that questions everything from food additives to pharmaceutical giants, alcohol may be next in line. For a generation increasingly attentive to what they consume, intoxication marketed as harmless fun no longer goes unquestioned. Many have seen through the lies of Big Alcohol marketing and no longer trust corporations that tell them it’s fine. 
If historical trends hold, younger Americans often set the trajectory for those who follow. The cultural distance from alcohol may only widen from here.
***
Ericka Andersen is the author of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Freely-Sober-Rethinking-Alcohol-Through/dp/1514013363/">Freely Sober: Rethinking Alcohol Through the Lens of Faith</a> (InterVarsity Press, 2026.)
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

OLEKSANDRA TROIAN/ Getty Images

Young Americans Are Quietly Rejecting A Longtime Cultural Staple — Here’s Why

Svedka Vodka will make history on Sunday when it debuts the first ever Super Bowl commercial that’s made mostly from AI generated video.
Despite not having any living actors, a spokesperson for the brand Sazerac (owner of Svedka) insisted that the overall messaging is very “pro-human.”
“We always knew we were signing up for risk because a vodka ad in the Super Bowl is polarizing to a certain degree,” Sara Saunders, chief marketing officer at Sazerac, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/digital/svedka-super-bowl-ad-ai-watch-1236493612/">told</a> The Hollywood Reporter. “So the rest of it was ‘we might as well create conversation.&#8217;”
Saunders said the message of the ad was really about reducing tech usage and meeting people the old fashioned way, like through dancing. This is shown through an AI-generated robot short circuiting after drinking Svedka.
“The entire idea of the campaign is that the robots have returned to remind the humans to be more human,” Saunders said. “Our message is ultimately pro-human.”
Though AI is recognized for having the ability to cut costs dramatically, which could be impactful considering how much it costs to run a Super Bowl commercial in the first place, the marketing exec insisted money wasn’t the driving force behind the AI ad.
“For us it&#8217;s never been an efficiency play, it’s been a storytelling play; that’s why we’ve always had strong hands on the keyboard,” she told THR.
The outlet noted that other Super Bowl commercials, including the “Jurassic Park” themed ad, will use AI elements, but noted that Svedka will be the first and only ad that’s almost completely created with AI.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Shake Your Bots Off - SVEDKA Big Game Commercial 2026" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pkeWRI2yJGM?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
The ad is currently available on YouTube. In it, Svedka’s robot character that was popularized over a decade ago is seen dancing with a new robot friend at a human party.
“After 12 years in sleep mode, I’m back online. And also apparently on advertising’s biggest stage,” the YouTube description says.
“My agenda is simple: More fun. More dancing. More human connection. More cocktails. Leave your texts on read. Mute your notifications. Stretch out your tech neck. The future isn’t going anywhere (I know, I&#8217;ve been there). Neither is your phone.”
“It’s hard to worry about tomorrow when you’re getting ‘super freaky’ on the dance floor. Join me,” it concludes. “Shake your bots off with SVEDKA.”
Comments on the video have been turned off.

Svedka Vodka

Svedka Vodka Insists AI-Generated Super Bowl Commercial Has ‘Pro-Human’ Message

Svedka Vodka Insists AI-Generated Super Bowl Commercial Has 'Pro-Human' Message

advertising

Artificial Intelligence

Media

Super Bowl

A shocking new report from the House Oversight Committee says the Biden administration broke the law in its crusade against the alcohol industry.
Last year, the Biden administration released a report that claimed there was “a very direct link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk.” Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for putting this warning on all alcohol products and called for a reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption to account for cancer risk.
As The Daily Wire reported at the time, this was the culmination of the Biden administration’s quiet efforts to redo America’s dietary restrictions to recommend Americans never drink alcohol. The relatively secret effort, which flaunted years of precedent and drew on the recommendations of Canadian citizens, largely flew under the radar.
The congressional investigation found the Biden administration’s alcohol study was both biased and unlawful. The report comes just hours before Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins hold a press conference in the White House Briefing Room, where they&#8217;re expected to unveil new guidelines.
The <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/report/a-study-fraught-with-bias-how-the-biden-administrations-alcohol-intake-and-health-study-tried-to-undermine-the-2025-2030-dietary-guidelines-for-americans/">report</a>, titled “‘A Study Fraught With Bias: How the Biden administration’s Alcohol Intake and Health Study Tried To Undermine the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines For Americans,” details a yearlong congressional investigation into the alcohol and health study authorized by the Biden administration in 2022. Biden’s study found a link between cancer and alcohol.
According to the report, the Biden administration directed the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking to conduct an alcohol intake and health study intended to influence the 2025-2030 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. House Republicans argue the effort violated federal law.
Congress had already authorized the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and appropriated $1.3 million to conduct the sole alcohol related study meant to inform the next round of dietary guidelines. Lawmakers say the Biden administration&#8217;s parallel effort was not only duplicative but also designed to reach a predetermined conclusion.
House investigators found that all six members selected for Biden’s study were &#8220;anti-alcohol advocates who had conducted previous research linking negative health outcomes with alcohol.&#8221; Three of the six experts in Biden’s study reside in Canada and were involved in developing Canada’s controversial 2023 alcohol guidance, which concluded that no amount of alcohol consumption is safe.
House investigators found that all six members selected for Biden’s study were &#8220;anti-alcohol advocates who had conducted previous research linking negative health outcomes with alcohol.&#8221;

President Trump Toasts The 2025 Kennedy Center Honorees

House Republicans Expose Biden’s Biased Efforts To Ban Alcohol

Donald Trump

Joe Biden

Republican Party

Surgeon General

As history shows, nearly every civilization has progressed and evolved using some form of alcohol. But no civilization in history has ever experimented with the types of industrialized THC products Western countries are now recklessly legalizing, commercializing, and normalizing. We might pause to ask ourselves why zero Asian countries have done so and why China is so anxious <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/06/24/1238497863/chinese-marijuana-farms-new-mexico">to promote</a> this cultural suicide weapon here.
A 2023 <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(25)01917-8/fulltext__;!!JA_k2roV-A!F0P_XFB6ND8ziqH2ovImdot2Tze_kgHA6TLYEc8Ifkn-grY-c9CqSJv-NPamf6v0PFrGk-6w--NkTAtaIIr-JHw$">global study</a> on life expectancy showed we are back to pre-pandemic levels with one notable exception: Teens and young adults in Western countries are dying at higher rates, driven largely by suicides and substance use.
Traffic fatalities continue to be a major cause of death in young adults, which is one reason The Daily Wire’s Matt Walsh has been vocal about <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@mattwalsh_/video/7559991047514836237">his opposition</a> to the legalization of marijuana. In fact, a recent study of dead drivers in a major Ohio county morgue found that 42% of them tested <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/health/fatal-crash-report-finds-nearly-half-deadly-wrecks-tied-illegal-drug">positive for THC</a>. 
Pot apologists quickly jumped to their defense, noting that THC can be detected for up to a month after use. But the national past 30-day marijuana use rate <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/07/08/facts-about-marijuana/">is only 16%</a>, yet these drivers had average THC levels 5 to 10 times the state legal limits.
Some will argue, “Well, it&#8217;s no worse than alcohol.”
Marijuana use, however, is associated with <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6296897/#:~:text=Analyses%20revealed:%201)%20daily%20marijuana,marijuana%20use%20and%20negative%20consequences.">more alcohol</a> consumption, and marijuana users are <a href="https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/news/marijuana-smokers-five-times-more-likely-develop-alcohol-problem">five times</a> more likely to become alcoholics. It has also been reported that up to 40% of marijuana users <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/daily-marijuana-use-is-now-more-common-than-daily-alcohol-use-in-the-u-s-new-study-finds">use daily</a>, and up to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.yalemedicine.org/conditions/marijuana-use-disorder__;!!JA_k2roV-A!F0P_XFB6ND8ziqH2ovImdot2Tze_kgHA6TLYEc8Ifkn-grY-c9CqSJv-NPamf6v0PFrGk-6w--NkTAta8e51DO8$">30% meet criteria for addiction</a> — both far higher percentages than for drinkers. Using alcohol to excuse marijuana use or legalization is simply an exercise in lazy whataboutism.
Speaking of which, THC strongly induces suicidality even in patients who were not depressed to begin with, and state legalization has led to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://psychiatryonline.org/doi/10.1176/appi.pn.2025.01.1.15__;!!JA_k2roV-A!F0P_XFB6ND8ziqH2ovImdot2Tze_kgHA6TLYEc8Ifkn-grY-c9CqSJv-NPamf6v0PFrGk-6w--NkTAta6a4o0FY$">sharp increases</a> in youth suicides. Up to <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/heavy-cannabis-use-linked-to-schizophrenia-especially-among-young-men/__;!!JA_k2roV-A!F0P_XFB6ND8ziqH2ovImdot2Tze_kgHA6TLYEc8Ifkn-grY-c9CqSJv-NPamf6v0PFrGk-6w--NkTAtaHeiA8hc$">30% of schizophrenia</a> cases in young men are attributable to THC use now.
Marijuana smoke is also causing the same <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/08/health/marijuana-head-and-neck-cancer-wellness/">type of cancers</a> as tobacco smoke, while also <a href="https://www.tctmd.com/news/cannabis-use-again-tied-increased-cvd-risk-young-people">dramatically increasing</a> the risk of heart attacks and strokes in younger users. Further, as the American College of Cardiology <a href="https://www.acc.org/Latest-in-Cardiology/Journal-Scans/2025/06/04/14/21/Chronic-Marijuana-Smoking">reports</a>, THC has been shown to cause damage to major blood vessels regardless of the mechanism of ingestion.
Add to this the well-known adverse effects on <a href="https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/124806/long-term-cannabis-blunt-brains-motivation-system/">motivation</a> and <a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4586361/">educational</a> achievement, and the costs of the cannabis culture to government budgets are simply staggering. One study on the costs of legalization in Colorado, for example, conservatively <a href="https://centennial.ccu.edu/briefs/marijuana-costs/">estimated</a>, “For every dollar gained in tax revenue, Coloradans spent approximately $4.50 to mitigate the effects of legalization.” And that’s even at a 15% sales tax rate.
While there is simply no conservative case for the legalization of marijuana, the libertarian case suffers from serious flaws. First of all, the utopian assumption that legalization would lead to a “safe and regulated” product that would eliminate the black market has now gone 0-for-24 in our marijuana legal states. Many legal THC products are <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://viiahemp.com/collections/high-thc__;!!JA_k2roV-A!F0P_XFB6ND8ziqH2ovImdot2Tze_kgHA6TLYEc8Ifkn-grY-c9CqSJv-NPamf6v0PFrGk-6w--NkTAtaX4gqjCQ$">more potent</a> than ever before, even more than the now highly potent plant itself. The industry has defied <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VkrWO8H08Q">regulation</a>, and the black markets are <a href="https://alcoholstudies.rutgers.edu/cannabis-black-market-thrives-despite-legalization/">thriving</a>. Legalizing marijuana to eliminate the black market is like giving your dog ticks to rid it of fleas. You just double the infestation.
More importantly, substances like THC are the exception that proves the libertarian rule. Libertarianism works when people are free to act in their own best interest and, by extension, their family, community, and country. Chemicals like THC are designed to promote the opposite type of citizen. Libertarians should be the most opposed to the drug culture because it undermines the very foundation of their ideology.
The <a href="https://learnaboutsam.org/2025/06/leading-experts-warn-marijuana-rescheduling-driven-by-politics-in-stunning-jama-psychiatry-report/">politically</a> driven potential rescheduling of marijuana will only fuel this destructive industry with tax breaks and marketing privileges. Republicans should note that young male voters <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-young-men-voters-election-latinos-democrats-ff30e38698a41132cf90345fffabe579">moved to the Right</a> last November while radical Democrats were still enticing them with more weed.
Much attention has been paid to the influence of transgender ideology on the radicalization of Charlie Kirk’s assassin. But as we saw with the transgender school shooter in Minneapolis, THC may have also played a role. As discussed in a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/Z1b3TYJli5A?si=vXQjsRYLTa6VQdWz&amp;t=1252">recent episode</a> of the Liz Wheeler show, a close friend of the suspected Utah assassin reported rampant drug use in his apartment and that “We’d have a mostly weekly magic night at the apartment where everyone would come drink, get high and play magic.”
Charlie Kirk gave his generation more credit than some in the GOP. Despite the criticism, he stood up to the lies of the THC industry. Republicans will never outbid Democrats in the race to the drug culture bottom. Nor should they, as <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/648821/americans-views-marijuana-effects-worsen.aspx">polls show</a> we may have already reached the bottom, with public sentiment now turning against marijuana.
Charlie knew that minds can be changed, but facts cannot. Truth and the future of this great country are worth standing for, regardless of the cost. 
Principled conservatives should do more than eulogize Charlie. They should emulate him.
* * *
Matt Poling is a physician, Medical Director of Citizens for a Safe and Healthy Texas, and Faculty Advisor for Texas A&amp;M Young Americans for Freedom. <a href="mailto:mpoling@sw.org">mpoling@sw.org</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire. 
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Close-up of young adult man rolling a marijuana joint on blur background.

The High Cost Of Getting High: How Legal Weed Is Destroying A Generation

Cannabis: A Cultural Suicide Weapon

Cancer

China

Drugs

Marijuana

Mental Health

Opinion

American alcohol exports to Canada have decreased by more than 60% due to the country’s boycott of American booze, the Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/us-alcohol-industry-canada-boycott-71dbd1e0?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAgMKxl1Z42FZE0H9vsKxyx6UHtLImhkvrEg4LDxFp6TPl0_kT_uF-qD53mhao4%3D&amp;gaa_ts=689e10c1&amp;gaa_sig=q2KnwkppwNBI9ovAt-qltsHtxxlAc7IiEfamB99ruYjh5YD_vMPlpPZiqX6IzhRnmYH9eWs57RGoFdtbc5Zn2Q%3D%3D" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Thursday.
Several Canadian provinces, which regulate the sale of liquor in Canada, initiated boycotts in response to President Donald Trump imposing a <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/timeline-trump-tariffs-canada-mexico-china/story?id=119506883" target="_blank" rel="noopener">25% tariff</a> on Canadian goods in February. Liqueur stores stopped ordering new shipments and replaced American products on their shelves with Canadian ones.
The Distilled Spirits Council, an alcohol industry group, estimated exports of American distilled spirits to Canada in the first six months of 2025 were down about 62% from the same period the year before, while exports of American wine were down 67%.
The Wine Institute, a trade group representing California-based wineries, estimated that in six months this year, American wineries lost more than $173 million in export value. In 2024, Canada bought up 35% of American wine exports, making it the industry’s largest export destination.
Robert Cullins, CEO of Baltimore-based Sagamore Spirit, estimates that the company will lose out on $2 million of revenue this year. “We’re a small craft distillery, so a couple of million dollars is pretty significant.”
One California vineyard, Hope Family Wines, says their sales have fallen by 10% so far. “It’s definitely going to hurt us personally,” Gretchen Roddick, the executive vice president, stated.
Meanwhile, Ontario announced that sales of Canadian brands have jumped by 14%.
Alberta participated in the boycott for three months before replacing it with a 25% tariff, claiming they wanted to improve the tone of trade talks between the two countries, according to Dale Nally, the province’s minister of red tape reduction.
The booze boycott is one of the reasons Trump has called Canada “<a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/article/trump-thinks-canadians-nasty-for-avoiding-us-travel-banning-booze-ambassador/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">mean and nasty to deal with.</a>”
Canada failed to reach a trade agreement with the US before Trump’s August 1st deadline, meaning that any products not covered under the United States -Mexico-Canada Agreement — about <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/canadian-exports-tariff-free-trump-us-trade-1.7604415" target="_blank" rel="noopener">60%</a> of products — will be subject to 35% tariffs. This puts Canada on the <a href="https://finance.yahoo.com/news/live/trump-tariffs-live-updates-117-year-high-in-volume-at-busiest-port-in-the-us-200619178.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">higher end</a> of the tariff scale.
There is currently no sign of ongoing negotiations between the two countries.
“We’ll speak when it makes sense,” Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney told reporters last week.
He warned the United States that Canadian investment in the country could decline without a deal: “Canada is the second-largest investor in the United States today in the world. We have 40 million people.”
“That puts in context the state of the relationship,” he said. “Without an agreement, there will be less by definition.”
Trump has not commented on the situation or hinted at future trade talks. Shortly before the August 1st deadline, he <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/07/28/canada-us-trade-talk-inside-drama-00480177" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that “We haven’t really had a lot of luck with Canada. I think Canada could be one where they’ll just pay tariffs. It’s not really a negotiation.”

Young drunk woman sleeping on bar counter drinking dark beer

The American Alcohol Industry is Suffering From Canada’s ‘Mean And Nasty’ Boycotts

Canada

Tariffs

United States

The new United States dietary guidelines, which are expected to be released this month, will remove the daily recommended limit for alcohol consumption.
The new guidelines, drafted by the Departments of Agriculture and Health and Human Services,  “are expected to include a brief statement encouraging Americans to drink in moderation or limit alcohol intake due to associated health risks,” sources told <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/us-drop-guidance-limit-alcohol-one-or-two-drinks-per-day-sources-say-2025-06-18/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>.
This marks a shift for the guidelines. Since 1990, the daily recommended limits have been no more than one drink for women and up to two drinks for men. It also signals a rebuke of the Biden administration, which took steps to drastically limit the amount of alcohol Americans consume.
In the last month of his term, Biden’s surgeon general expressed a desire to place cancer risk warnings on all alcohol products. Biden had also tapped a secretive board called the Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking to revise the alcohol portion of the dietary guidelines.
Sources close to the committee — which contained multiple Canadian citizens —warned it was “close to adopting the World Health Organization’s 2023 <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declaration</a>: &#8216;No level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health,&#8217;” as <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-donald-trump-isnt-coming-for-your-tequila-but-kamala-might-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">previously reported</a> by The Daily Wire.
Dietary guidelines are published every five years. The current revision is being led by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
The intention behind making the change is “to ensure the guidelines reflect only the most robust evidence.”
“The scientific basis for recommending specific daily limits is limited,” one source commented.
The debate surrounding the potential benefits and harms of alcohol is still unsettled. Though some studies indicate an increased risk of <a href="https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/the-link-between-alcohol-and-cancer/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cancer</a>, others show that those who consume alcohol in moderation may have a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2024/12/new-report-reviews-evidence-on-moderate-alcohol-consumption-and-health-impacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lower mortality rate</a>, and possess a lower risk of heart attack and stroke.
Authors of a Harvard <a href="https://harvardpublichealth.org/policy-practice/is-alcohol-bad-for-you-or-is-alcohol-good-for-you-yes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">meta-study</a> concluded that “the data do not justify sweeping statements about the [negative] effects of moderate alcohol consumption on human health.”
&#8220;The hospitality industry has consistently maintained the view that the Dietary Guidelines for Americans should be determined based on a preponderance of sound scientific evidence, free from bias and conflicts of interest,&#8221; Science Over Bias, a coalition of groups involved in the alcohol industry, said in a statement. &#8220;Information on responsible alcohol consumption has been part of the Dietary Guidelines for decades and has provided useful guidance for consumers who choose to consume alcohol and their health care providers.&#8221;

Full Frame Shot Of Alcohol Bottles In Shelf

U.S. Dietary Guidelines Will Scrap Daily Alcohol Limit

Biden Administration

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

USDA

Vice President JD Vance poured a few beers for American service members at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, speaking to troops briefly while his plane refueled during his return trip back to the United States.
The vice president has seen a busy week beginning with Easter Sunday at the Vatican, where he briefly met with the late Pope Francis just hours before the pontiff died of a stroke, followed by a trip to India with Second Lady Usha Vance and their three children.
Vance, according to the pool report, commented on the hectic nature of his schedule as he spoke to the crowd, saying in part, &#8220;I have no idea what the hell day it is, what time it is, but we’re glad to be here with you guys.”
&#8220;I guess as a small token of appreciation, I’m going to serve you guys some beers,&#8221; the vice president said after he&#8217;d finished speaking. He drank first, raising a traditional German painted stein and prepared to toast the gathered service members.
Initially joking that he should chug the beer, Vance quickly course-corrected, saying, &#8220;That would go viral, and not in a good way, my friends.&#8221;
Instead, he sipped from the stein and offered his toast: &#8220;To the airmen of this base, the airwomen of this base, and all of our troops serving overseas, God bless you guys. Cheers.&#8221;
Vance proceeded to pour beers from the &#8220;kegerator,&#8221; designed and built by Air Force Master Sgt. Anthony Davis, as the troops filed in, some exchanging greetings and asking the vice president to take photos with them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
Vice President <a href="https://twitter.com/JDVance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JDVance</a> pouring up some beers for the troops during a refuel stop at Ramstein Air Base🍻 <a href="https://t.co/eU4VJYBqBZ">pic.twitter.com/eU4VJYBqBZ</a>
&mdash; William Martin (@wsmartin218) <a href="https://twitter.com/wsmartin218/status/1915385110536265776?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
One airman asked how his flight had been, to which Vance replied, &#8220;It was 9 hours and 20 minutes with three little kids and as good as it could be &#8230; I’m not giving everybody a full pour here.&#8221;
&#8220;What’s up man?&#8221; Vance asked one airman. &#8220;Drinking on the job here, now that your tour’s over?&#8221;
&#8220;Are you old enough to drink this beer?&#8221; he asked another.
One female airman reportedly asked Vance to do &#8220;the Trump dance.&#8221;
Davis asked Vance to sign his &#8220;kegerator,&#8221; and he happily obliged. &#8220;This thing is awesome,&#8221; he said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Per pooler <a href="https://twitter.com/natalie_allison?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@natalie_allison</a>: VP Vance served beer to 100+ Air Force, Army and Space Force today at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on his way back to the USA.
The airman who built this kegerator (Air Force Master Sgt. Anthony Davis) asked <a href="https://twitter.com/VP?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@VP</a> to sign it.
Vance wrote: “To… <a href="https://t.co/qrcDHpR8nx">pic.twitter.com/qrcDHpR8nx</a>
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) <a href="https://twitter.com/MaryMargOlohan/status/1915463080999260209?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 24, 2025</a></blockquote>

U.S. Vice President Vance Visits Italy And India

JD Vance Serves Beer To Service Members During Refueling Stop, Reminds Himself Not To ‘Chug’

JD Vance Serves Beer To Service Members During Refueling Stop, Reminds Himself Not To 'Chug'

JD Vance

Military

Politics

Trump Administration

Canada is a cold place, and to get around my home of Ontario comfortably during the winter I’m lucky to have a top-shelf pair of American premium leather cowboy boots by Durango. They’re perfect, except for the part where they supposedly can increase my risk of cancer.
Yes, because my boots comply with California’s Proposition 65, they came with a Cancer and Reproductive Harm <a href="https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2020-07-23/prop-65-product-warnings" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warning label</a> in the event I were to excessively lick or dine upon my footwear. Everything from DVD players to couches now carry these labels if they’re sold in California, in case a consumer were to ingest them instead of watch a movie or take a nap. Considering the earth’s sun is a well-known carcinogen, it’s a wonder California hasn’t legislated some kind of labeling on the menacing gaseous ball elevating the cancer risk of everyone beneath its rays.
Perhaps the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy will take action after he’s done frightening consumers about alcohol. Murthy’s latest <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/surgeongeneral/priorities/alcohol-cancer/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory report</a> on “the causal link between alcohol consumption and increased risk for at least seven different types of cancer” <a href="https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/alcohol-cancer-risk-rcna186367" target="_blank" rel="noopener">has America spooked</a>. We experienced the same tactics in Canada.
The political collapse of Prime Minster Justin Trudeau in Canada temporarily killed a <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-canada-alcohol-problem-health-warning-labels-1.6850180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bill</a> that would have had Canada <a href="https://www.medcentral.com/biz-policy/should-alcohol-labels-have-a-cancer-warning" target="_blank" rel="noopener">follow Ireland</a> in slapping cancer warnings on all alcoholic beverages. It’s part of a movement within the public health establishment via the <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/alcohol">World Health Organization</a>, to shift world governments away from the message of “drink responsibly” and toward “<a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/tasker-canada-alcohol-problem-health-warning-labels-1.6850180" target="_blank" rel="noopener">no amount is safe</a>”.
Consumers should know the risks associated with alcohol consumption, but what exactly are those risks?
First, Dr. Murthy’s report is what’s known as an observational study, which means conclusions are drawn without experiments featuring variables and controls. These reports study large pre-existing data sets and can show correlation, not causation, of illness associated with certain products like alcohol. It is literally not possible for observational studies to demonstrate cause and effect.
Second, the data sets informing the research are biased toward <a href="https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24825591/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">respondents underreporting</a> their level of drinking. It is to be expected then that the data for moderate drinkers is systematically enmeshed with that of heavy drinkers who underestimate their weekly intake.
The result is that moderate drinking ends up looking more risky than it might otherwise be on a chart illustrating a correlation between alcohol consumption and certain cancers.
The Canadian Centre for Substance Use and Addiction (CCSA) <a href="https://www.ccsa.ca/canadas-guidance-alcohol-and-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">led</a> the charge for warning labels in Canada, and their own findings illustrated the same kind of disproportionate response being mimicked by Dr. Murthy in the US. The CCSA’s report argued that a male who consumes 2 drinks per day may increase their <a href="https://financialpost.com/opinion/david-clement-happy-festivus-earful-for-you" target="_blank" rel="noopener">absolute</a> colorectal cancer risk by 0.0028 percent. If you add the increased risk for all cancers measured by the CCSA (liver, colorectal, esophagus, larynx, and oral/pharynx) related to alcohol consumption, the total absolute increase in cancer risk for a male drinking 2 drinks per day is 0.0099, or 9.9 one-hundredths of a percent.
These are not the kind of numbers you’d take seriously if they were on the warning label, and it’s not especially helpful to slap tobacco-style cancer warnings on products that are exponentially less harmful. The <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/lung-cancer/risk-factors/?CDC_AAref_Val=https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/lung/basic_info/risk_factors.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">CDC</a> estimates that smoking increases cancer risk by 15-30 times when compared to non-smokers.
Smoking comes with an increased cancer risk that is more than 1,000%. Two alcoholic drinks per day, however, is only an increase of 0.0099% in risk. These things are not the same.
A <a href="https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2839311">2016 paper</a> from Harvard Kennedy School laid out the best case against an overzealous warning label regime like California’s Prop 65 and the movement to associate alcohol with the hazards of cigarettes. Harvard said of Prop 65 that it “fails miserably at distinguishing between large and small risks; that is to say between wolves and puppies.” The cancer warning label movement “cries wolf” over statistically insignificant risks and deters consumers from taking labels seriously when a genuinely dangerous product comes to market in the future.
It is not good for consumers when warning labels are a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/AskAnAmerican/comments/lvkiys/proposition_65_should_i_worry/">punchline</a>, but that’s precisely what happens when cancer warnings are on cigarettes and <a href="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/GettyImages-171179611.jpg">Starbucks self-serve</a> sugar stations.
The connection between heavy drinking and certain cancers of the mouth and throat is generally accepted by researchers, including the most recent report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) about the health impacts of alcohol. NASEM <a href="https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/28582/review-of-evidence-on-alcohol-and-health">showed the same</a> uptick in the risk for breast cancer with moderate drinking but did not replicate a connection between moderate drinking and the rest of the other afflictions.
Any consumer should scratch their head when the Surgeon General’s alcohol warning is that “evidence shows that this risk may start to increase around one or fewer drinks per day.”
May start? Fewer than one drink per day? This barely clever wording means Dr. Murthy cannot demonstrate total sobriety as having a 0.0 correlation with developing cancer.
This strategic uncertainty should tell you something about the claims being made by Vivek Murthy and public health authorities in places like Canada. The conclusions don’t make that much sense. For example, Dr. Joseph Sparano, deputy director of the Tisch Cancer Institute at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, <a href="https://www.today.com/health/diet-fitness/alcohol-cancer-risk-rcna186367">told NBC’s Today</a> “Drinking may explain some of the increased cancer risk we are seeing in young people – Cancers in people under the age of 50 have been increasing at a rate of 1-2% per year over the last 15 years.”
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But nothing is said about the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/claraludmir/2023/06/27/why-genz-is-drinking-less-and-what-this-means-for-the-alcohol-industry/">years</a> of <a href="https://www.bbc.com/worklife/article/20220920-why-gen-zers-are-growing-up-sober-curious">coverage</a> on reliable trendlines <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/509690/young-adults-drinking-less-prior-decades.aspx">showing</a> adults under 35 drink less frequently and in lower quantities than any prior generation. Older cohorts are <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/30/health/seniors-alcohol-consumption.html">driving</a> the majority of alcohol consumption, and recent Center for Disease Control <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db374.htm">data</a> shows us that 5.1% of American adults are heavy drinkers, meaning a man who consumes more than 14 drinks per week and a woman who has more than seven. That slim cohort represents 75% of the cancer cases related to alcohol consumption.
If public health authorities are going to increase their focus on alcohol, it should be on heavy drinkers and tested messages of moderation and responsible drinking. 
Comparing the risks of moderate drinking to smoking is statistically false and misleading for consumers. The U.S. Surgeon General’s words carry incredible weight throughout the world, and like with California’s overzealous risk labeling system, Murthy risks squandering even more public trust in a public health advisory that can’t prove its own claims.
* * *
David Clement is the North American Affairs Director for the Consumer Choice Center. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/ClementLiberty">@ClementLiberty</a>
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Close up of young Asian woman walking through supermarket aisle and choosing a bottle of red wine from the shelf in a supermarket

Why Cancer Warnings On Alcohol Dilute The Meaning Of Risk

California

Health

Tobacco

Vivek Murthy

a wall rack of wine bottles.

Public Health ‘Experts’ Set The Stage For A New Prohibition

Public Health 'Experts' Set The Stage For A New Prohibition

Matt Walsh

As Americans greeted their New Year’s Day hangovers with pledges to lay off the sauce, the Biden administration took a major step towards making every month Dry January.
Last week, Biden&#8217;s Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2025/01/03/us-surgeon-general-issues-new-advisory-link-alcohol-cancer-risk.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">advisory</a> “outlining the direct link between alcohol consumption and increased cancer risk.” Murthy wants health warnings on all alcohol products that mention cancer risk, as well as “a reassessment of the guideline limits for alcohol consumption to account for cancer risk.”
It may sound like benign bureaucratic jargon. But it’s far worse than that.
As The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/no-donald-trump-isnt-coming-for-your-tequila-but-kamala-might-be" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in October, a secret committee working deep behind the scenes of the Biden administration is working to revise federal dietary guidelines regarding alcohol. The Interagency Coordinating Committee on the Prevention of Underage Drinking (ICCPUD) is a six-person panel working within the Department of Health and Human Services. But instead of just trying to keep kids from drinking, this panel <a href="https://tomwark.substack.com/p/no-amount-alcohol-healthy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> wants the United States to adopt the World Health Organization’s <a href="https://www.who.int/europe/news/item/04-01-2023-no-level-of-alcohol-consumption-is-safe-for-our-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">position</a> that “no level of alcohol consumption is safe for our health.”
Now, I love an “I told you so” moment as much as the next keyboard warrior. But this is no reason to gloat. The bureaucracy’s push to stop Americans from drinking is a dangerous development, and not just because it’s profoundly lame. It’s the latest sign of how leftists want to use the government to meddle in Americans’ daily lives. And it’s not even based on real science.
Murthy notes that “alcohol is a well-established, preventable cause of cancer responsible for about 100,000 cases of cancer and 20,000 cancer deaths annually in the United States.” He further notes that “for breast cancer specifically, 16.4% of total breast cancer cases are attributable to alcohol consumption.”
Much like Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/im-not-a-biologist-supreme-court-nominee-says-she-cant-define-the-word-woman" target="_blank" rel="noopener">I’m not a biologist.</a> So I have no reason to doubt these statistics. But whenever a government official starts calling for a total ban on anything for my own good, I get suspicious. Banning things that can be unhealthy when consumed in excess is the first step towards nanny statism and universal health care. It’s downright European.
Or, in this case, Canadian. As we previously reported, three of the ICCPUD’s six members are Canadians who helped slash the number of recommended drinks in their frozen homeland back in 2013. That recommendation didn’t even play well in Canada, a country that has basically thrown its hands up and accepted euthanasia and leaders like Justin Trudeau as inevitabilities.
The mere presence of Canadian health bureaucrats should be enough to disqualify whatever the ICCPUD recommends. But there’s also a <a href="https://www.nationalacademies.org/news/2024/12/new-report-reviews-evidence-on-moderate-alcohol-consumption-and-health-impacts" target="_blank" rel="noopener">new study</a> from the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Math, which found that “compared with never consuming alcohol, moderate alcohol consumption is associated with lower all-cause mortality.”
That study is hardly biased towards alcohol. In fact, it includes the same cancer statistics that Murthy cites in his advisory. But it also looks at other areas, and finds that moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a lower risk of both heart attack and stroke, compared to never drinking at all.
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There’s also a recent <a href="https://harvardpublichealth.org/policy-practice/is-alcohol-bad-for-you-or-is-alcohol-good-for-you-yes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Harvard study</a> that found moderate drinking lowered blood sugar and was associated with lower rates of diabetes as well as lower rates of “thyroid cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and renal cell carcinoma.” Looking at the whole board, the authors conclude that “the data do not justify sweeping statements about the [negative] effects of moderate alcohol consumption on human health.”
Murthy probably won’t get his warning labels. Such a change would require congressional approval, and if the <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/01/03/surgeon-general-alcohol-cancer-congress-00196399" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bipartisan opposition</a> to the new drinking guidelines is any indication, it seems unlikely that Congress would vote to slap cancer warnings on liquor bottles.
But Murthy’s advisory is telling nonetheless. Biden is packing up the Oval Office, and his Surgeon General is trying to bring back Prohibition. That would be shocking, if his boss wasn’t spending this time trying to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-biden-races-to-sell-off-border-wall-parts-before-trump-takes-office" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sell off pieces</a> of the border wall, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/disgraceful-decision-trump-press-secretary-blasts-bidens-move-to-block-more-offshore-drilling?topStoryPosition=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stop offshore drilling</a>, and smuggle in all sorts of policies that would hamstring the incoming Trump administration.
It’s a troubling reminder of how Democrats act when they have power, and of what their priorities will be the next time they take the White House. Fortunately, we won’t have to deal with that for at least the next four years.
I’ll drink to that.

Conference Of Mayors Held In Washington, DC

The Biden Surgeon General’s Alcohol Warning Is Just The Tip Of The Prohibition Iceberg

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