page_title: Alcohol law
section_title: United States
hierarchical_section_title: Alcohol law / Restrictions on sale and possession / North America / United States
caption_attribution_description: A sign posted on the door of a convenience store temporarily closed by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission for three sales of alcohol to minors. This store was actually CLOSED entirely, until the end of the 14 day suspension.
context_page_description: Alcohol laws are laws in relation to the manufacture, use, being under the influence of and sale of alcohol or alcoholic beverages that contains ethanol. Common alcoholic beverages include beer, wine, cider, and distilled spirits. 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", but this definition varies internationally. These 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, as with Prohibition in the United States from 1920 to 1933.
context_section_description: In the United States, the sale of alcoholic beverages is controlled by the individual states, by the counties or parishes within each state, and by local jurisdictions. In many states, alcohol can only be sold by staff qualified to serve responsibly through alcohol server training. A county that prohibits the sale of alcohol is known as a dry county. In some states, liquor sales are prohibited on Sunday by a blue law.
  The places where alcohol may be sold or possessed, like all other alcohol restrictions, vary from state to state. Some states, like Louisiana, Missouri, and Connecticut, have very permissive alcohol laws, whereas other states, like Kansas and Oklahoma, have very strict alcohol laws.
  Many states require that liquor may be sold only in liquor stores. In Nevada, Missouri, and Louisiana, state law does not specify the locations where alcohol may be sold.
  In 18 alcoholic beverage control states, the state has a monopoly on the sale of liquor. For example, in most of North Carolina, beer and wine may be purchased in retail stores, but distilled spirits are only available at state ABC (Alcohol Beverage Control) stores. In Maryland, distilled spirits are available in liquor stores except in Montgomery County, where they are sold only by the county.
  Most states follow a three-tier system in which producers cannot sell directly to retailers, but must instead sell to distributors, who in turn sell to retailers. Exceptions often exist for brewpubs (pubs which brew their own beer) and wineries, which are allowed to sell their products directly to consumers.
  Most states also do not allow open containers of alcohol inside moving vehicles. The federal Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century of 1999 mandates that, if a state does not prohibit open containers of alcohol inside moving vehicles, then a percentage of its federal highway funds will be transferred instead to alcohol education programs each year. As of December 2011, only one state (Mississippi) allows drivers to consume alcohol while driving (below the 0.08% limit), and only five states (Arkansas, Delaware, Mississippi, Missouri, and West Virginia) allow passengers to consume alcohol while the vehicle is in motion.
  Four U.S. states limit alcohol sales in grocery stores and gas stations to beer at or below 3.2% alcohol: Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Utah. In these states, stronger beverage sales are restricted to liquor stores. In Oklahoma, liquor stores may not refrigerate any beverage containing more than 3.2% alcohol. Missouri also has provisions for 3.2% beer, but its permissive alcohol laws (when compared to other states) make this type of beer a rarity.
  Pennsylvania is starting to allow grocery stores and gas stations to sell alcohol. Wines and spirits are still sold at locations called "state stores", but wine kiosks are starting to be put in at grocery stores. The kiosks are connected to a database in Harrisburg, and purchasers must present valid ID, signature, and look into a camera for facial identification to purchase wine. Only after all of these measures are passed is the individual allowed to obtain one bottle of wine from the "vending machine". The kiosks are only open during the same hours as the state-run liquor stores and are not open on Sundays.
caption: This convenience store in Michigan had its retail license suspended for two weeks because it sold alcoholic beverages to minors.
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