Dried American Act: 100-year standard continues to influence Americans' complicated relationship with alcohol | Science and health

One hundred years ago, in January 1919, the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibited the manufacture, sale and transport of "intoxicating liquors" in the United States, was ratified, opening the "period of prohibition ". ). This paved the way for the dry law, which should come into force the following year (1920).

Some places place restrictions on the sale of alcoholic beverages on Sundays. In this case, the reason may be religious, in order to reserve this day for worship. But there are also economic reasons, and these restrictions often benefit from the support of specialized barkeepers who wish to avoid overtime on Sunday, as well as to repel competition from grocery stores and other establishments where it is possible to buy alcohol.

"The rules vary from one place to another, but there is indeed a legacy of dry law," said historian Lisa McGirr, a professor at the University Harvard and author of The War on Alcohol: Prohibition and the rise of the American state ("The War on Alcohol: Dry Law and Rise of the American State," in free translation).

What is the origin of the dry law?

The dry law is the result of efforts made in the 19th century when alcoholic beverages, widely accepted in the United States, are beginning to be perceived as a problem, especially since more and more workers are migrating from the United States. Farms to factories where homeowners fear alcohol consumption has resulted in accidents and a drop in productivity.

Among the other motivations, there was a rigid interpretation of the Bible and the idea that the consumption of alcohol was a sin, as well as racial and religious intolerance.

"In the south of the country, after the American Civil War (1861-1865), there was also a racial motivation, an attempt to restrict the type of leisure activities to which newly released Blacks had access" , he told BBC News Brazil. Joe Coker, professor at Baylor University in Texas and author of The Liquor in the Land of the Lost Cause: Southern White Evangelicals and the Prohibition Movement ("Alcohol in the Land of the Lost Cause: The White Evangelicals") of the South and the movement of the dry law ", in free translation).

"In the more industrialized north-east, there was an anti-immigrant sentiment badociating beer consumption with immigrants and trying to set limits," said Coker. "The movement has also attracted many people to progressive social ideas that saw alcohol abuse as a cause of poverty and other urban problems."

The movement brings together various organizations, including the Christian Women's Union for Temperance. With the popularization of the countryside, many parts of the country began to restrict the sale of alcoholic beverages well before Lei Seca. The state of Maine banned this ban as early as 1846. When national law came into force, more than 30 states had their own restrictions.

Problems Arising from the Prohibition of Alcohol

The Drought Act was initially welcomed enthusiastically by activists, but its limits soon became clear. The law does not ban consumption per se, but many Americans now have access to alcoholic beverages due to production, distribution and sales, as well as application gaps.

Instead of ending addiction, poverty, and corruption, as their lawyers wanted, the Seca Act increased drunken and crime rates. The consumption of alcohol purchased on the black market, which is stronger and of poor quality, has resulted in thousands of deaths and problems such as blindness or paralysis.

Secret bars that sold alcohol secretly, called "speakeasies", were spreading all over the country. Just in New York, it is estimated that they have reached 100,000. The lucrative illicit trade, dominated by gangsters like Al Capone, has resulted in an increase in violence and organized crime.

The economy also suffered from high costs related to law enforcement, the elimination of thousands of jobs after the closure of bars, restaurants and distilleries, and to the loss of billions of dollars in taxes on the sale of alcohol that have ceased to be collected.

Faced with these problems and the country plunged into the Great Depression, support for the dry law weakened in the early 1930s. In 1933, under the government of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 21st Amendment to the Constitution repeals the 18th Amendment and ends the Seca Law.

"Everyone was not happy about the end of the dry law," says McGirr. "With the re-establishment of the legal sale of alcoholic beverages (at the national level), states have badumed the responsibility to regulate and many have decided to maintain their prohibitions," he notes.

Some have maintained the ban throughout the territory. Mississippi was the last to abolish its drought act, which lasted until 1966. Others allowed counties and cities to decide their rules and, while state bans disappeared, the inhabitants of the country were creating their own laws, creating disparities. present to date.

Effect of Dry Law on the West Coast of the United States

Even in places without prohibition, some restrictions, such as the closing time of bars, can generate divisions. The latest example is a bill introduced last month in California to allow nine cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, to extend the time limit for the sale of alcohol.

In most American states, the hours of sale of alcoholic beverages in bars, restaurants and discotheques are closed between 2am and 4am. But in some, like Mississippi, the limit is 1h. In Alaska, 5h. In California, the legislation in force stipulates that these establishments stop selling alcohol at 2 o'clock in the morning. According to the proposal, these cities would gain autonomy to decide whether to extend this schedule until 4 o'clock.

If they choose to extend the schedule, cities will have to dialogue with locals and develop transportation and public safety plans before implementing change. They can also limit the extended time to certain neighborhoods, days of the week or periods of the year.

The idea is to be part of a five-year pilot project. After this period, the effects would be badessed and the law could be renewed or removed.

The proposal, which is supported by town halls, bars, restaurants and tourism industries, chambers of commerce and transportation companies through applications such as Uber and Lyft, is being presented for the third time. At first, he does not move forward. In the second legislature last year, the Legislature pbaded the veto of then governor Jerry Brown, who spoke of the risk of an increase in the number of drunk drivers, a concern shared by the government. police.

The idealizers hope that the new governor, Gavin Newsom, who took office this month, will sanction the law if it is again approved by the Legislative Assembly.

Senator Scott Wiener, author of the bill, criticizes the fact that the "closing time" of bars and nightclubs at 2 am applies indiscriminately in small rural communities as well. than in California's large urban centers and says that it stifles the state's economy.

Advocates of change point out that other major cities across the country allow the sale of beverages until much later. In New York, it is allowed until 4 am, but nightclubs can be opened until that time, without serving drinks. In Miami, it is 5 am, but in some areas, the bars can be open 24 hours. In New Orleans, the sale of alcohol is allowed 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Restrictions on Alcohol Consumption Today

According to NABCA, in recent years there has been a trend toward lifting restrictions on alcohol consumption in dry areas and many counties and cities with a strong tradition of prohibition have reversed their positions.

Opponents of the restrictions generally point to the economic benefits of releasing the liquor trade, the attractiveness of new bars, restaurants and tourists and the creation of jobs. They also cite the fact that residents are forced to travel long distances by car until they arrive in a city or county where they can buy a drink, which can increase the risk of drivers in state of being. drunkenness and accidents.

Coker notes that in some areas, especially in the southern United States, where the religious population is important, alcohol consumption is still considered a taboo, but believes that it has changed with the new generations .