Your State's (Ridiculous Or Not) Alcohol Laws.

ICT Diner


The drinking age in Oklahoma used to be 18 for women and 21 for men (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Craig_v._Boren#Facts).  They changed it to 21 for everyone, shortly before I moved there.

 
The 18/21 rule was established because Oakee Men are so ugly, they needed some kind of advantage to look somewhat attractive to even uglier OK Women. 

I think I talked about this earlier somewhere else, but we do have strange laws. Liquor stores do have signs and they advertise. Local option is the wierd part. Counties and towns have their own rules, so you have to ask whereever you are. Hot beer only, no Sunday sales, no sales before noon on Sunday, liquor stores,but no bar or restaurant sales, bars with food only......the oddities go on and on.
 
The basic rules are 10 AM to 10 PM, no Sunday sales of hard stuff or wine (beer is local option) Depending on where you are you may or may not buy drinks, beer or wine is restaurants or bars. The hours vary with the location. State wide, wineand liquor is sold at package stores only, but beer is available everywhere (Kroger to Walgreens)
 
 All wine and liquor come from the state wholesaler, but the retail stores are privately owned. Before legalization, the State employed people to collect a "black market tax" on the boootleggers.   

Several years ago some friends and myself went to the race in Darlington, SC.  We stayed in "not too far away", Lake City, SC.  Once we got to our hotel and settled we wanted to get some "Crown Royal".  Standing out on our balcony we could see no signs of any liquor stores so we asked at the desk.  Little did we know we had been overlooking a liquor store which to our eyes was a small semi run down looking building with a Coke machine out front, we weren't real sure what part of town we were in then.  The desk clerk assured us all was well but liquor stores could do no advertising, so unless you were from the area you would never be able to identify them.

joerogo

Grillnut, The fireworks laws are just as bad as the liquor laws.
 
As a Pa. resident you can go into the fireworks store and only buy stuff like sparklers.  Out of state residents can buy anything they want.  That is why all the stores are near the borders.

Seriously?  Around the Fourth of July, fireworks stands spring up all over this area, and they seem to sell a lot more than just sparklers.
 
Of course, I've never visited either the store or the stands, so I have no idea exactly what they sell or what I'd be allowed to purchase.

In Ohio you can buy all the fireworks you want, but when you do you have to sign a statement saying that you will remove them from the state for use, and you have to say what state you'll be going to.

Rusty,
Just look for the red balls on the sides of buildings in SC. Red balls and no or small sign = liquor store.

Grillnut

joerogo
Grillnut, The fireworks laws are just as bad as the liquor laws.
 
As a Pa. resident you can go into the fireworks store and only buy stuff like sparklers.  Out of state residents can buy anything they want.  That is why all the stores are near the borders.

Seriously?  Around the Fourth of July, fireworks stands spring up all over this area, and they seem to sell a lot more than just sparklers.
 
Of course, I've never visited either the store or the stands, so I have no idea exactly what they sell or what I'd be allowed to purchase.

The Pa stands that show up around 4th of July sell only ground based stuff like fountains and such.  Anything that goes airborn is only sold in stores like Phantom, about 20 miles south of Breezewood and no Pa resident is allowed in the store.  Same for Keystone near Gettysburg.  But comrades from the People's Republic of Maryland are allowed to buy professional type stuff at both stores.
 
On topic, Montgomery County Md. has 'state stores' for liquor but most all other counties have liquor stores with very good hours.  Tick Tock Liquors near the U of Md always did a big liquor business after 9pm which was when the Montgomery County liquor stores closed and Tick Tock was the 1st store over the border in P.G. County.
 


 

Here in Woodford county, Versailles, there's no alcohol  on Sunday.  But, in neighboring county Fayette they've recently allowed alcohol sales starting at 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.  The man who owns the convenience store that's the first store you get to when you cross the Woodford/Fayette line is making a fortune in beer sales on Sunday because he's the closest stop unless you want to drive 15 or so more miles into Lexington!

Andrea

Jim in NC


Rusty,
Just look for the red balls on the sides of buildings in SC. Red balls and no or small sign = liquor store.

Ah ha!  Now I know their secret. 

Dearfolk,
   I am gratified by all these responses. Tomorrow I'll have more time and will be back to read through them.
   After realizing how relatively lucky I am to be in no-Sunday-sales Georgia (liquor stores can sell chips, beer, wine, etc. -- just six daze a weak), I now await the second stage, as it were... this year the legislature, according to someone I know who is an insider, is going to pass some sort of Sunday sales legislation, even if it is local option. Hey, Athens will vote wet for Sunday sales in a heartbeat, by a six-or-seven-to-one margin. And I'll show up to vote for it if I'm still breathing....
   Now I'm heading to Trappeze for a pint of something or another yummy.
      Presbyterianly Moderately, Ort. in 30601-Central.

I live in China now, and here there is no drinking age and any kind of alcohol can be bought anytime. People are free to drink a bottle of beer in public if they so desire.  

I don't know the rates of alcoholism here, but I do know as a teacher that very few of the teens and even college students drink, because alcohol is not a forbidden fruit to them, and also a lot of the kids play sports and are more serious about their studies.

The United States has probably the most inane alcohol laws outside of Muslim nations in the World. The level of ridiculousness and officiousness concerning it is stiffling to say the least.

In Tennessee a liquor store can only sell liquor. They can't sell mixers, soda or anything else. Just liquor. Beer cannot be sold 3 AM to 7 AM Monday to Saturday, and beer cannot be sold from 3 AM to Noon on Sunday.

When I went to college in Mississippi, it was 18 to buy beer, 21 for liquor. That law was changed about 20 years ago. There are still pockets of the south that are still "dry".

Nevada had about the most liberal alcohol laws ever, anything alcoholic can be bought and bars are allowed to be open 24/7. None of this closed on Sunday foolishness.

Lastly, I worked in a casino, and a girl I worked with, worked the Midnight to eight am shift, and would go buy beer at 8 AM and the clerks would think that she was a "problem drinker" because of the time that she imbibed. Well, not everyone works 9 to 5.

Dearfolk,
   Gad, I really got something going, didn't I?
      Hurriedly, Ort.

News Alert!!!!  Connecticut is finally considering removing its centuries old 'blue laws' so they can generate more needed taxable income.  Eventually certain principles are thrown to the wayside.

Now prepare for my latest rant.  I wish to propose that that the marijuana laws are repealed too.  It will provide jobs for some regions that have fertile land but no income.  The income generated for many people is part of the gift as the state will receive taxes from it being sold.  The pulp and waste can provide usable materials for other products including... biomass fuel.

Elkhart, IN is a perfect example.  Plenty of farm land and the potential for improving life as energy jobs are created.  People from other states will come over and Indiana will notice increased revenue from the toll booths. Businesses along the highway will profit too.  While I am at it, throw in some speed traps too.
It could be a deal with the devil, but I would like to think that every shuttered door in Elkhart would be re-opened.

mark

"I'm a farmer.." Max Yasger

When laws are repealed, the costly laws and procedures, also come into play. 
  
Creating a legal threshold to measure the intoxication factor, while driving with marijuana, in your system.
 
When legal, it becomes a COSTLY procedure, to determine the level of THC currently in the system (at the time of an accident). It is now a more complicated matter...and timing is everything. The levels of THC in the bloodstream spike and decrease rapidly, with the casual use of marijuana. On-scene blood/urine testing via mobile on-site units. The blood serum level of (legal) heavy marijuana users, will not only influence a test, it complicates the matter. A slippery slope. A nightmare in the court system. A nightmare on the roads.

CCinNJ


When laws are repealed, the costly laws and procedures, also come into play. 
  
Creating a legal threshold to measure the intoxication factor, while driving with marijuana, in your system.
 
When legal, it becomes a COSTLY procedure, to determine the level of THC currently in the system (at the time of an accident). It is now a more complicated matter...and timing is everything. The levels of THC in the bloodstream spike and decrease rapidly, with the casual use of marijuana. On-scene blood/urine testing via mobile on-site units. The blood serum level of (legal) heavy marijuana users, will not only influence a test, it complicates the matter. A slippery slope. A nightmare in the court system. A nightmare on the roads.

Hi CC,

I am not aware of the statistics of the amount of accidents caused by the solitary smoking of marijuana compared to booze, but I am willing to be enlightened.  If it wasn't for the fact that it can be used in conjunction with alcohol or other things that do impair you, it would not be a factor.  Drunk and stoned is the usual combination with alcohol levels being enough. Marijuana is not a gateway drug, mom and dad's liquor cabinet is.
With alcohol, impairment testing is one of the primary ways of determining intoxication. Tell you what, you drink three beers and I smoke three Michael Phelps lungfuls of pot, we can drive a obstacle course and I'll see you at the finish line. I'll make the test even easier, walk along a straight line please....
Do I need to go into a litany to the damage that alcohol creates vs pot? Overdose? No. Domestic violence? No. It doesn't matter, and prohibition will never return as it is too profitable.

 We are filling many prisons with pot arrests with the majority of those sentenced being a minority.  I know that it is important that we clear the cities of pot smoking minorities while it is overlooked in the suburbs.  The laws are costing us money and having a ounce of weed can ruin a person's life.
My point is that there is a way to profit and create jobs for many people, where your focus is how we can spend money on enforcement, incarceration and time wasted when there are other drugs that are dangerous. Currently we are spending tax dollars against when we can make tax dollars for....
This is one vice that can be profitable due to taxation.  That is my point.  Decriminalizing will allow for a different 'growth' industry
I would rather make money off a 'vice' to survive, than to starve based on principles.

mark

In Illinois, promotions like “$5 all you can drink,” “$5 unlimited beer from 5 to 7 p.m.,” etc., are prohibited.
So is reducing or changing prices during the normal operating hours. Prices must be the same for all customers, for all purchases for the whole day, so no happy hour drink specials.

You need not get into the litany of damage alcohol cases while driving. They are not statistics. Many are actual people that lose their lives. I have lost one of those people, many years ago.
 
You will never get me behind a wheel, after drinking anything. There lies the problem. You may certainly think you are capable of driving, after the use of marijuana. Many others are sure to feel the same way. Just like people  "feel" (so very often) like they are able to drive, after drinking.
 
It is not a game, or a test. One night you might "be" fine and dandy. Maybe not so, on another day. Unfortunately, it is usually not until innocent people get hurt or killed, that will make some  pause and reflect on the risk and the casual attitude becomes quite serious. Too late.
 
I have plenty of information. It is burned into my brain. Quite graphic, in nature. I only have to re-visit it, when it is time for parole consideration, for a  habitual offender. He thought he could drive after drinking, and smoking pot. He was stubborn enough to do it over, and over, and over. He killed the wrong person (someone other than himself).
 
 
Many people do not get "enlightened" until after they crash the car. They usually think they are ok, right up until they hurt or kill someone. Then, they are NOTHING but sorry. "Finding God", quickly.
 
Of course it impairs! That is why people smoke it! You cannot appreciate and seperate the high, while justifying  the driving. I will be all for marijuana users signing off on their privlidge to drive. It is a different threshold and alcohol levels are somewhat more acute, while it can be argued that marijuana levels, can be both acute/chronic. Meaning, very difficult to prove guilt or convict, no matter what. It goes the other way, too. Someone can be innocent (while driving) but there are levels in the blood, from previous usage, that would incriminate them.
 
Roadfood may not be the place for the marijuana debate. I just wanted to share a different perspective.
 
I honestly pray you never decide to drive, after smoking pot (if it was ever legalized or not). For your own safety, and the safety of others.  Food for thought.
 

Hi CC,

I also feel this is not the place for a debate on the topic.  I respectfully disagree but I cannot end this without a final comment. ... or two.
Funny story.  My brother is a K-9 cop north of SF.  He worked in a town where the dog was not allowed to sniff for pot.  Even when he went to check a domestic disturbance and found three roomfuls of pot, the DA and other agencies did not care. He took photos of the room as evidence. They have other fish to fry.
He is now working in another town where gangs have taken advantage of this prohibition.

Enforcing marijuana prohibition costs American taxpayers roughly US$10 billion annually and results in more than 829,000 arrests a year, far more than the total number of arrests for all violent crimes combined. The arrests are much easier to obtain by police than the time and effort required to produce arrests in many other areas of law enforcement.

I'll leave the final thoughts to the experts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmgeCeGk--I

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaRBcKJyPdI

 
mark

Ohio's liquor laws are awesome.  I actually used one of them in an argument to beat a traffic ticket  (failure to use a turn signal) based on ambiguity in the law by citing scenarios where ambiguous laws would be dangerous when taken at face value...  but that's another story.

DISCLAIMER:  I AM NOT A LAWYER.

I refer you to ORC 4301:1, Section D4...  In brief:
Illegal to sell beer dressed as Santa Claus... legal to give away free beer dressed as Santa Claus.... illegal to state a detrimental opinion about another brand if giving away free beer while dressed as Santa Claus Law.  However, it is completely legal to have a label on your beer that shows Santa Claus selling beer with a speech bubble coming off that says how Santa likes to get sloshed on Miller Genuine Draft, and not Budweiser, because Budweiser tastes like sewer water.

Oh, and it's stated in 4301:1 that this Section also applies to dogs.


Of course, if you commit an offense under 4301:1...  according to ORC 2331.12 it's apparently ILLEGAL for an officer to ARREST YOU FOR IT so long as it's a Sunday...

Days on which arrests cannot be made.
2331.12 Days on which arrests may not be made.

No person shall be arrested during a sitting of the senate or house of representatives, within the hall where such session is being held, or in any court of justice during the sitting of such court, or on Sunday or on the fourth day of July.

Effective Date: 10-01-1953



Also, if you wish to violate 4301:1 you could also do it while you're walking down the street en route to jury duty.... or while you're on your way to church under ORC 2331:11.  Wouldn't that be great?  A catholic, Budweiser-dispensing Santa Claus that hates Michelob and tells the world about it... while on his way to daily mass?

Immunity from arrest
2331.11 Privilege from arrest.

(A) The following persons are privileged from arrest:

(1) Members, the chief administrative officer of the house of representatives, the clerk of the house of representatives, clerks, sergeants at arms, and staff of the senate and house of representatives, during the sessions of the general assembly, and while traveling to and from such sessions;

(2) Electors, while going to, returning from, or in attendance at elections;

(3) Judges of the courts, while attending court, and also during the time necessarily employed in going to, holding, and returning from the court that it is their duty to attend;

(4) Attorneys, bailiffs, clerks of courts, sheriffs, coroners, constables, plaintiffs, defendants, jurors, and witnesses, and other officers or employees of the court, while going to, attending, or returning from court;

(5) Persons who, on their traditional day of worship, are within, going to, or returning from their place of worship, are worshipping at a service, or are going to or returning from a service.

(B) Whoever arrests a person in violation of division (A) of this section shall pay one hundred dollars, to be recovered by civil action, in the name and for the use of the person injured.

Effective Date: 03-09-1999

  In Duval county Florida, in so far as I know, the bars close at 2 am, the liquor stores I am not so sure about as I don't buy very much and beer is whenever you want it as long as you have the money.