The Supreme Court agreed on Monday to consider whether Congress had the constitutional authority to impose a ban on distilling spirits in private homes more than 150 years ago.
Plaintiffs challenging the prohibition on home distilling claim the 1868 law is an antiquated relic of Reconstruction-era politics. They argue that Congress overstepped its taxation powers when it enacted the home distilling ban as part of a tax reform measure designed to curb fraud by commercial distillers.
Government attorneys counter that Congress properly restricted where spirits can be distilled to prevent producers from evading federal excise taxes. They warn that lifting the ban would violate Supreme Court precedent and erode congressional powers.
Was just gonna say, those stories you read every few years about 50+ people dying from improperly distilled alcohol in Kenya are coming to a town near you.
This sounds like a racist Republican trope. Can you link to a credible instance? I’ve literally never heard any stories about this.
Sure.
Source: I made it the fuck up
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/18/nigeria-deaths-suspected-methanol-alcohol-brew-drink
https://www.npr.org/2022/07/19/1112310405/south-africa-teens-methanol-bar-deaths
And a bunch of countries in Southeast Asia https://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/methanol-poisoning-symptoms-laos-bali-b3019296.html
Yeah, those weren’t from distillation. From the first link
“Locals told the AP they suspected a popular herbal drink with high alcohol content, known as “Monkey Tail,” was mixed with methanol, causing the deaths.” Notice the methanol added part.
From the second one "Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol that is used industrially as a solvent, pesticide or an alternative source of fuel. It is not used in the production of alcohol sold for human consumption.
It is yet not known how the youngsters ingested the methanol." Again, sounds like cheap industrial methanol was mixed in. Also not home distillation.
And again, the third one isn’t home distillation causing issues, it’s cheap places trying to make a buck by cutting their product with cheap additives.
You’re saying the raw milk ivermectin people are not going to be spiking their alcohol with who knows what?
I’m saying the raw milk ivermectin people are likely to do that already and the current data doesn’t show home distillation to be a problem.
The kind of people who are gonna add methanol to what they make are the kind of people to ignore the legality of home distillation and do it anyways.