(RALEIGH) -- North Carolina lawmakers are gearing up to look at privatizing the state’s Alcoholic Beverage Control system. Critics of privatization say it will ultimately lead to more public safety problems linked to higher alcohol consumption.

Democratic Sen. Clark Jenkins, a member of the ABC study committee, said he does not buy that argument. "Some people think, well it's alright to drink beer but it's not alright to drink whisky. Both of them can get you in trouble if you abuse them.  It doesn't make much difference," said Jenkins.

Critics also claim that privatizing the system could jeopardize revenue for local governments. "The county could get the same revenue and not have the cost of operating the system, I would assume they might be interested in it.  I didn't ask but several county managers in our neighborhood and they said, yeah, if you can protect the income then I don't care to run 'em," added Jenkins.