JCC Should home distillation be legal?

Unless you live in New Zealand, odds are you live in a place where distillation is highly regulated and generally illegal unless done as part of a commercial enterprise.

Proponents of its legality assert that it's a control to ensure the government gets more tax money and an infringement on their rights.

Opponents of its legality point out the dangers associated with it and the reasonable protection from harm that comes with banning it.

What do you guys think?

 

It is a wretched enterprise and ought to be banned.

 

This thread is in direct violation of the Volstead Act! Everyone is under arrest!

 

(References to that Simpsons episode where Prohibition is reinstated in Springfield)

 

I've home brewed and made home made wine, but distilling should never be done at home. It should be done in the woods or in some isolated shack.

 

The beer fermenting under my kitchen sink right now says no.

 

Why shouldn't it?

 

I'm pretty sure the citation for why this can't be allowed is the whole thing about going blind. But I'm all for giving people the option to distill for home use.

 

I somehow doubt that allowing it for home use would eat much into tax revenue. Even if it did, the difference could easily be made up with the fees for permits.

 

So, OZK has just discovered Boardwalk Empire. Grats, OZK. 2010 is happy for you.

 

I've been wanting to build a still. Apple moonshine is awesome and I really wasn't using my liver anyway.

 

New Zealand. **** yeah!

 

In the UK you can homebrew fermented beverages (i.e. beer) legally but you can't distill liquor or sell your homebrew.

 

Well, there aren't laws against, say, chugging bleach, so I don't see why not. I'm honestly more bemused that people would want to bother - distillation at the small scale is a wretched, tedious affair with very little bang for your buck, especially when you factor in the man hours you lose to keeping an eye on it.

 

If the still meets the proper technical standards - yes. As long as it's for your own consumption and you're not planning to sell it anywhere, I don't see why not.

 

I'm gonna go with no because it would destroy the local market for moonshine.

 

And probably kill a few folks.