In addition to local election laws that allow municipalities to determine whether liquor can be sold, many aspects of the state`s liquor laws were described as “confusing” in a 2012 article in one of Kentucky`s largest newspapers, the Lexington Herald Leader. The confusion starts with the licenses themselves – the state issues more than 70 different types of licenses for the sale of alcohol. [1] An essential feature is that wine can be purchased in a pharmacy, but not in a supermarket. The sale of distilled wine and spirits in pharmacies and grocery stores is governed by laws dating back to prohibition. At that time, alcohol prescriptions could be obtained from pharmacies (sometimes called frumenti spirits). After the end of national prohibition, sales in grocery stores were banned because minors were supposed to be in those stores rather than pharmacies. Today, although grocery stores may hold wine and liquor licenses, they can only sell such beverages if they provide a separate entrance to that part of the store and do not allow minors to work there. On the other hand, grocery stores can sell beer in the main shopping area. [1] Another inconsistency concerns the difference between the legal age to buy and sell alcoholic beverages. The legal age to buy is 21[2], as in all US states. However, the legal age to sell or serve alcoholic beverages in a licensed establishment is 20.
[3] A county can get “wet” in several ways, according to popular definitions: A study of about 39,000 alcohol-related traffic crashes in Kentucky found that residents of dry counties are more likely to be involved in such crashes, possibly because they have to drive farther from home to consume alcohol. thus increasing the driving load. The study concludes that a district-level ban is not necessarily effective in improving road safety. [14] Kentucky`s liquor laws, which govern the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages in that state, result in a patchwork of counties that are either dry (prohibiting all sales of alcoholic beverages), wet (allowing full retail sale under state license) or “wet” (taking a middle ground in between). A Kentucky Supreme Court justice wrote in 1985 that the state`s liquor laws were a “maze of obscure legal language” and “confusing at best.” The general counsel of the Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) noted in 2012, “It still is.” [1] This prompted Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear to set up a task force in the summer of 2012 to try to streamline the state`s liquor laws. [1] In everyday language, “wet” has a much broader meaning than the specific use of ABC. In addition to the ABC definition, “wet” can also refer to a county where the sale of alcohol has been permitted under one of the special provisions permitted by Kentucky law, in other words, any status other than “dry” or “wet.” More commonly, the term is used to refer to otherwise arid cities or counties that have approved restaurant sales through drinking, as evidenced by a July 2012 editorial in The Independent of Ashland, which repeatedly uses the term “wet” to describe many of these places. [5] According to the latest official ABC of the counties dated January 3, 2013, 38 counties are dry, 32 wet and the remaining 50 are “wet” or dry under special circumstances.
[4] [1] Hours of sale for liquor stores, gas stations and supermarkets: The CBA uses very specific terminology to classify the state`s 120 counties as “wet,” “dry,” “wet,” or dry with special provisions. [4].
