is what the Koran calls alcohol. And few countries have done more to suppress the alcohol trade than Iran, even though Iranian grapes were once so good that a type of wine was named after an Iranian city (Shiraz). In fact, alcohol is deeply ingrained in Persian culture. Mey, the word for wine, and Saki, the wine pourer, have been the central theme of Persian poetry for more than a thousand years. And just like alcohol prohibition didn't work in America, it's not working in Iran either.

The New York Times reports:

In the latest effort to curb the widespread consumption and distribution of alcohol, the new conservative Parliament recently increased the punishment for selling or drinking it. Offenders still get 74 lashes, but now also receive a hefty fine and from three months to a year in prison, twice the maximum sentence than under the old law.

Even so, one seller, who calls himself Allan for fear of retribution, says business is so good that it is worth the fine and the flogging. "I tell myself that the fine does not even come to the tax that I should be paying," he said. "The demand is high and the income is excellent. It is hard to quit."

...Despite the crackdown, there is no sense of an alcohol shortage. With one phone call, one can get anything from smuggled French-made wine to Russian or homemade Armenian vodka. One bootlegger delivers the goods on a scooter, wrapping bottles in black plastic bags and hiding them in a saddlebag. Allan puts them in the trunk of his car.

What's even more interesting is that in 1997 the Iranian government began allowing drugstores to freely sell pure grain alcohol, without the dangerous chemical methanol. (Until then only doctors were permitted to get a limited number of bottles for medical use.) Iranians routinely mix it with pineapple juice and drink it. Government officials look the other way.

One senior official, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said the decision to permit such widespread production of alcohol was made to limit the number of deaths and casualties caused by illegal drinks. Some 19 people were killed in 2004 after drinking bad bootleg liquor. "A lot of people had turned to drugs such as opium because they were cheaper and more accessible," said the official.

Hat tip to DPA staffer Dave "Campari" Glowka for sending me the article.

Tags: Iran, Prohibition, Alcohol.