Dry county

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Map of alcohol control laws in the United States: Red = dry counties, where selling alcohol is prohibited Yellow = semi-dry counties, where some restrictions apply Blue = no restrictions Alcohol control in the United States.svg
Map of alcohol control laws in the United States:
Red = dry counties, where selling alcohol is prohibited
Yellow = semi-dry counties, where some restrictions apply
Blue = no restrictions

In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties now permit the sale of alcohol in at least some circumstances, but some dry counties remain, mostly in the Southern United States; the largest number are in Arkansas, where 34 counties are dry.

Contents

A number of smaller jurisdictions also exist, such as cities, towns, and townships, which prohibit the sale of alcoholic beverages and are known as dry cities, dry towns, or dry townships. Dry jurisdictions can be contrasted with "wet" (in which alcohol sales are allowed and regulated) and "moist" (in which some sales of alcohol are permitted, or a dry county containing wet cities).

Background

History

In 1906, just over half of U.S. counties were dry. The proportion was larger in some states; for example, in 1906, 54 of Arkansas's 75 counties were completely dry, influenced by the anti-liquor campaigns of the Baptists (both Southern and Missionary) and Methodists. [1]

Although the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed nationwide Prohibition in the United States, prohibition under state or local laws is permitted. [2] Prior to and after repeal of nationwide Prohibition, some states passed local option laws granting counties and municipalities, either by popular referendum or local ordinance, the ability to decide for themselves whether to allow alcoholic beverages within their jurisdiction. [3] Many dry communities do not prohibit the consumption of alcohol, which could potentially cause a loss of profits and taxes from the sale of alcohol to their residents in wet (non-prohibition) areas.[ citation needed ]

The reason for maintaining prohibition at the local level is often religious in nature, as many evangelical Protestant Christian denominations discourage the consumption of alcohol by their followers (see Christianity and alcohol, sumptuary law, and Bootleggers and Baptists).

A 2018 study of wet and dry counties in the U.S. found that "Even controlling for current religious affiliations, religious composition following the end of national Prohibition strongly predicts current alcohol restrictions." [4]

In rural Alaska, restrictions on alcohol sales are motivated by problems with alcohol use disorder and alcohol-related crime. [5]

Transport

Since the 21st Amendment repealed nationwide Prohibition in the United States, alcohol prohibition legislation has been left to the discretion of each state, but that authority is not absolute. States within the United States and other sovereign territories were once assumed to have the authority to regulate commerce with respect to alcohol traveling to, from, or through their jurisdictions. [6] However, one state's ban on alcohol may not impede interstate commerce between states who permit it. [6] The Supreme Court of the United States held in Granholm v. Heald (2005) [6] that states do not have the power to regulate interstate shipments of alcoholic beverages. Therefore, it may be likely that municipal, county, or state legislation banning possession of alcoholic beverages by passengers of vehicles operating in interstate commerce (such as trains and interstate bus lines) would be unconstitutional if passengers on such vehicles were simply passing through the area.[ citation needed ] Following two 1972 raids on Amtrak trains in Kansas and Oklahoma, dry states at the time, the bars on trains passing through the two states closed for the duration of the transit, but the alcohol stayed on board. [7] [8]

Prevalence

A 2004 survey by the National Alcohol Beverage Control Association found that more than 500 municipalities in the United States are dry, including 83 in Alaska.[ citation needed ] Of Arkansas's 75 counties, 34 are dry. [9] [10] 36 of the 82 counties in Mississippi were dry or moist [11] by the time that state repealed its alcoholic prohibition on January 1, 2021, the date it came into force, making all its counties "wet" by default and allowing alcohol sales unless they vote to become dry again through a referendum. [12] In Florida, three of its 67 counties are dry, [13] all of which are located in the northern part of the state, an area that has cultural ties to the Deep South.

Moore County, Tennessee, the home county of Jack Daniel's, a major American producer of whiskey, [14] is a dry county and so the product is not available at stores or restaurants within the county. The distillery, however, sells commemorative bottles of whiskey on site. [15]

Traveling to purchase alcohol

A study in Kentucky suggested that residents of dry counties have to drive farther from their homes to consume alcohol, thus increasing impaired driving exposure, [16] although it found that a similar proportion of crashes in wet and dry counties are alcohol-related.

Other researchers have pointed to the same phenomenon. Winn and Giacopassi observed that residents of wet counties most likely have "shorter distances (to travel) between home and drinking establishments". [17] From their study, Schulte and colleagues postulate that "it may be counter productive in that individuals are driving farther under the influence of alcohol, thus, increasing their exposure to crashes in dry counties". [16]

Data from the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration (NHTSA) showed that in Texas, the fatality rate in alcohol-related accidents in dry counties was 6.8 per 10,000 people over a five-year period. That was three times the rate in wet counties: 1.9 per 10,000. [18] [19] A study in Arkansas came to a similar conclusion - that accident rates were higher in dry counties than in wet. [20]

Another study in Arkansas noted that wet and dry counties are often adjacent and that alcoholic beverage sales outlets are often located immediately across county or even on state lines. [21]

Tax revenue

Another issue a dry city or county may face is the loss of tax revenue because drinkers are willing to drive across city, county or state lines to obtain alcohol. Counties in Texas have experienced this problem, which led to some of its residents to vote towards going wet to see their towns come back to life commercially. Although the idea of bringing more revenue and possibly new jobs to a town may be appealing from an economic standpoint, moral opposition remains present. [22]

Crime

One study finds that the shift from bans on alcohol to legalization causes an increase in crime. [23] The study finds that "a 10% increase in drinking establishments is associated with a 3 to 5% increase in violent crime. The estimated relationship between drinking establishments and property crime is also positive, although smaller in magnitude". [23]

Dry and moist counties in Kentucky had a higher rate of meth lab seizures than wet counties; a 2018 study of Kentucky counties concluded that "meth lab seizures in Kentucky would decrease by 35% if all counties became wet." [4]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition</span> Outlawing of alcohol

Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage, transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic beverages. The word is also used to refer to a period of time during which such bans are enforced.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1919 amendment establishing prohibition of alcohol

The Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution established the prohibition of alcohol in the United States. The amendment was proposed by Congress on December 18, 1917, and ratified by the requisite number of states on January 16, 1919. The Eighteenth Amendment was repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment on December 5, 1933, making it the only constitutional amendment in American history to be repealed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volstead Act</span> 1919 US law initiating the prohibition of alcoholic beverages

The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress designed to execute the 18th Amendment which established the prohibition of alcoholic drinks. The Anti-Saloon League's Wayne Wheeler conceived and drafted the bill, which was named after Andrew Volstead, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, who managed the legislation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution</span> 1933 amendment repealing the 18th amendment, thereby ending prohibition of alcohol in the US

The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which had mandated nationwide prohibition on alcohol. The Twenty-first Amendment was proposed by the 72nd Congress on February 20, 1933, and was ratified by the requisite number of states on December 5, 1933. It is unique among the 27 amendments of the U.S. Constitution for being the only one to repeal a prior amendment, as well as being the only amendment to have been ratified by state ratifying conventions.

A local option is the ability of local political jurisdictions, typically counties or municipalities, to allow decisions on certain controversial issues within their borders, usually referring to a popular vote. It usually relates to the issue of alcoholic beverage, marijuana sales, and now mask wearing.

In the United States, the nationwide ban on alcoholic beverages, was repealed by the passage of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution on December 5, 1933.

In the United States state of Kentucky, a moist county is a county the regulations in force of which are between those of a "dry county" and a "wet county". The term is typically used for any county that allows alcohol to be sold in certain situations but has limitations on alcohol sales that a normal "wet" county would not have. Some historically "dry" counties are switching to this system to avoid losing money to businesses in other counties when they do not wish to become completely "wet". The term "moist" in itself does not have any specific meaning except that the county is neither completely "wet" nor completely "dry". A "dry" county that contains one or more "wet" cities is typically called "moist".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Webb–Kenyon Act</span>

The Webb–Kenyon Act was a 1913 law of the United States that regulated the interstate transport of alcoholic beverages. It was meant to provide federal support for the prohibition efforts of individual states in the face of charges that state regulation of alcohol usurped the federal government's exclusive constitutional right to regulate interstate commerce.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Oklahoma</span>

Oklahoma allows any establishment with a beer and wine license to sell beer and wine up to 15% ABV, under refrigeration.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Missouri</span>

The alcohol laws of Missouri are among the most permissive in the United States. Missouri is known throughout the Midwest for its largely laissez-faire approach to alcohol regulation, in sharp contrast to the very strict alcohol laws of some of its neighbors, like Kansas and Oklahoma.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Kansas</span>

The alcohol laws of Kansas are among the strictest in the United States, in sharp contrast to its neighboring state of Missouri, and similar to its other neighboring state of Oklahoma. Legislation is enforced by the Kansas Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of New York</span>

Alcohol laws of New York are a set of laws specific to manufacturing, purchasing, serving, selling, and consuming alcohol in the state of New York. Combined with federal and local laws, as well as vendor policies, alcohol laws of New York determine the state's legal drinking age, the driving under the influence limit, liquor license requirements, server training, and more.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol laws of Kentucky</span>

The alcohol laws of Kentucky, which govern the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in that state, lead to a patchwork of counties that are either dry, or wet, or "moist". A justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court wrote in 1985 that the state's alcohol laws were a "maze of obscure statutory language" and "confusing at best." The general counsel of the Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) noted in 2012, "That's still the case." This led Kentucky governor Steve Beshear to appoint a task force in summer 2012 to attempt to streamline the state's alcohol laws.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prohibition in the United States</span> Ban on alcohol from 1920 to 1933

The Prohibition era was the period from 1920 to 1933 when the United States prohibited the production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages. The alcohol industry was curtailed by a succession of state legislatures, and Prohibition was formally introduced nationwide under the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified on January 16, 1919. Prohibition ended with the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment, which repealed the Eighteenth Amendment on December 5, 1933.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcohol law</span> Law pertaining to alcoholic beverages

Alcohol laws are laws relating to manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, (hard) cider, and distilled spirits. Definition of alcoholic beverage varies internationally, e.g., the United States defines an alcoholic beverage as "any beverage in liquid form which contains not less than one-half of one percent of alcohol by volume". Alcohol laws can restrict those who can produce alcohol, those who can buy it, when one can buy it, labelling and advertising, the types of alcoholic beverage that can be sold, where one can consume it, what activities are prohibited while intoxicated, and where one can buy it. In some cases, laws have even prohibited the use and sale of alcohol entirely.

A dry state was a state in the United States in which the manufacture, distribution, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages was prohibited or tightly restricted. Some states, such as North Dakota, entered the United States as dry states, and others went dry after the passage of prohibition legislation or the Volstead Act. No state remains completely dry, but some states do contain dry counties.

The Alcohol laws of Tennessee are distinct in that they vary considerably by county.

Blue laws, also known as Sunday laws, are laws that restrict or ban some or all activities on specified days, particularly to promote the observance of a day of rest. Such laws may restrict shopping or ban sale of certain items on specific days. Blue laws are enforced in parts of the United States and Canada as well as some European countries, particularly in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and Norway, keeping most stores closed on Sundays.

References

  1. ↑ Barnes, Kenneth C. (2016). Anti-Catholicism in Arkansas: How Politicians, the Press, the Klan, and Religious Leaders Imagined an Enemy, 1910–1960. University of Arkansas Press. p. 73. ISBN   978-1682260166.
  2. ↑ "-National Constitution Center". National Constitution Center – constitutioncenter.org. Archived from the original on February 16, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2020.
  3. ↑ "Control State Directory and Info". www.nabca.org. National Alcohol Beverage Control Association. Archived from the original on October 27, 2017.
  4. 1 2 Fernandez, Jose; Gohmann, Stephan; Pinkston, Joshua C. (April 2018). "Breaking Bad in Bourbon Country: Does Alcohol Prohibition Encourage Methamphetamine Production?". Southern Economic Journal. 84 (4): 1001–1023. doi:10.1002/soej.12262.
  5. ↑ Patkotak, Elise (April 1, 2015). "Wet, damp or dry, Alaska communities suffer scourge of alcohol abuse". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  6. 1 2 3 544 U.S. 460 (2005)
  7. ↑ St. John, Sarah (July 19, 1972). "40 years ago: Kansas AG raids Amtrak train, confiscates liquor". Lawrence Journal-World. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ Adams, Cecil (August 13, 2010). "No Booze, Oklahoma? No Railroad For You!". Washington City Paper. Archived from the original on February 28, 2018.
  9. ↑ "Wet Counties with Their Respective Exceptions". dfa.arkansas.gov. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved September 14, 2020.
  10. ↑ "2021 Unofficial Local Option Election Status". dfa.arkansas.gov. Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Mississippi Alcoholic Beverages Wet-Dry Map". Archived from the original on June 25, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Mississippi's governor has signed into law a repeal of alcoholic prohibition in the state". WTVA. Archived from the original on July 31, 2020. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  13. ↑ "Should Suwannee County remain dry? Voters will decide". Retrieved July 6, 2011.
  14. ↑ Stengel, Jim (January 9, 2012). "Jack Daniel's Secret: The History of the World's Most Famous Whiskey". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on March 17, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  15. ↑ "Lynchburg, Moore County High School Raiders, Tennessee, Christmas, Tims Ford State Park, Lake, Motlow Bucks, Jack Daniels, Sign Dept". www.themoorecountynews.com. Archived from the original on April 25, 2016.
  16. 1 2 Schulte Gary, Sarah Lynn; Aultman-Hall, Lisa; McCourt, Matt; Stamatiadis, Nick (2003). "Consideration of driver home county prohibition and alcohol-related vehicle crashes". Accident Analysis & Prevention. 35 (5): 641–648. doi:10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00042-8. PMID   12850064.
  17. ↑ Winn, Russell; Giacopassi, David (1993). "Effects of county-level alcohol prohibition on motor vehicle accidents". Social Science Quarterly . 74 (4): 783–792. JSTOR   42863249.
  18. ↑ "'Dry Towns' throughout the US". American Addiction Centers, Inc. October 22, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  19. ↑ Kelleher, Kelly (1997). "Social and Economic Consequences of Rural Substance Abuse, chapter in Drug Abuse Research" (PDF). NIH. pp. 196–219. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
  20. ↑ Stewart, Patrick A.; Reese, Catherine C.; Brewer, Jeremy (2004). "Effects of Prohibition in Arkansas Counties". Politics & Policy. 32 (4): 595–613. doi:10.1111/j.1747-1346.2004.tb00197.x. S2CID   143975978.
  21. ↑ Combs, H. Jason (2005). "The wet-dry issue in Arkansas". The Pennsylvania Geographer. 43 (2): 66–94.
  22. ↑ Hampson, Rick (August 1, 2010). "Dry America's not-so-sober reality: Its Shrinking Fast". USA Today. Retrieved October 27, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Anderson, D. Mark; Crost, Benjamin; Rees, Daniel (December 1, 2016). "Wet Laws, Drinking Establishments, and Violent Crime". The Economic Journal. 128 (611): 1333–1366. doi:10.1111/ecoj.12451. hdl: 10419/107493 . ISSN   1468-0297. S2CID   154591383.
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