# Regarding Prohibition in USA... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 12, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538 "2016-12-12T18:11:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jinx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Jinx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jinx)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/1 "2016-12-12T18:11:32Z")
One question on US Prohibition of alcohol: For those who actually DID use wine and spirits for religious\* or medicinal purposes only, were they able to purchase without going to clandestine means? If so, how? (\*For use in church as well as for certain religious ceremonies performed at home) ---
**Author:** ![dolphinboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dolphinboy/32/330_2.png) [@dolphinboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dolphinboy)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/2 "2016-12-12T18:20:23Z")
I believe suppliers were legally allowed to produce sacramental wine and sell it to registered churches. I assume this was tightly controlled, at least theoretically, by the US government. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/3 "2016-12-12T18:28:58Z")
Wine for religious purposes was completely legal, although regulated by the government. [Wine During Prohibition](http://www.savoreachglass.com/articles/wine-during-prohibition) > [@](#): > > Because of this act, limited amounts of wine were able to be made both at home and in wineries. Yet, those made in wineries were only available for purchase through warehouses owned and monitored by the government. Wine was also only allowed to be purchased for use in religious ceremonies, particularly mass. However, these rules didn’t keep wine drinkers from only using wine for legal purposes: a conceptual “wine opener”, the Volstead Act provided a window of opportunity; one drinkers were quick to go through. > > A study performed in 1925, during the heart of Prohibition, found that demand for sacramental wine increased by 800,000 gallons in a two year period. Perhaps this demand was being legitimately made by church goers - Prohibition brought out a religious revival of its own - but it’s far more likely that people were purchasing sacramental wine for other uses. Just like the old saying there are no Atheists in a foxhole, there are no Atheists in Prohibition when religious wines are legal. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2016, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/4 "2016-12-12T18:31:09Z")
Answered in by the SDSAB back in 2001 > **[What did the Catholic church use for altar wine during Prohibition?](https://www.straightdope.com/21343062/what-did-the-catholic-church-use-for-altar-wine-during-prohibition)** > > A STAFF REPORT FROM THE STRAIGHT DOPE SCIENCE ADVISORY BOARD ---
**Author:** ![Isilder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/cc9497/32.png) [@Isilder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isilder)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/5 "2016-12-13T11:16:18Z")
Paul McCartnery, of the beatle’s has a brother,who was in a group called “The Scaffold”. There biggest hit was “Lily the pink”. Which reminds us the absurdity of prohibition when 18% W/W alcohol was available at the pharmacy as “Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound”. It contained trace, actually almost homeopathic, amounts of some herbs… and 18% ethanol. Sure it relieved PMS , menopause symptoms, sore back and other pains and work related stress… it was the strength of wine ! It was ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 12:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/6 "2016-12-13T12:10:31Z")
I collect medical memorabilia. My collection includes several framed prescriptions for alcohol. [Examples](https://www.google.com/search?q=prohibition+prescription+alcohol&client=safari&hl=en-us&prmd=isnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjj2amtkfHQAhXK5SYKHXEUDIgQ_AUIBygB&biw=1024&bih=728) ---
**Author:** ![aldiboronti](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9fc348/32.png) [@aldiboronti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aldiboronti)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/7 "2016-12-13T12:21:24Z")
One of the strangest things about Prohibition was that it was perfectly legal for people to have alcohol at home, it was just illegal to buy or sell. ---
**Author:** ![Terminus\_Est](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terminus_est/32/3087_2.png) [@Terminus\_Est](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terminus_Est)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/8 "2016-12-13T12:33:13Z")
No less a personage than Winston Churchill received a prescription for alcoholic spirits while he was visiting the US at the height of Prohibition: > **[Winston Churchill Received A Prescription For Alcohol To Get Around American...](https://vinepair.com/wine-blog/winston-churchill-received-a-prescription-for-alcohol-to-get-around-american-prohibition/)** > > Winston Churchill, a lover of all things booze, found himself in the unlucky position of visiting the U.S. during Prohibition. The solution? Get a script. > [@](#): > > This is to certify that the post-accident convalescence of the Hon. Winston S. Churchill necessitates the use of alcoholic spirits espcially at meal times. The quantity is naturally indefinite but the minimum requirements would be 250 cubic centimeters. > > (Sgd.) > OTTO C. PICKHARDT, M.D. One could also purchase “wine bricks” or rather bricks of concentrated grape juice. The purchaser would dissolve the brick in a gallon of water. The instructions also included a warning NOT to leave the jug to cool in the cupboard for 21 day, or else it would turn into wine. > **[During Prohibition, Vintners Sold "Wine Bricks" Rather Than Wine](https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ingenious-brick-helped-wine-industry-survive-prohibition-180956412/)** > > Dissolve, ferment, enjoy ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/9 "2016-12-13T14:00:16Z")
> [@Terminus\_Est](#): > > One could also purchase “wine bricks” or rather bricks of concentrated grape juice. The purchaser would dissolve the brick in a gallon of water. The instructions also included a warning NOT to leave the jug to cool in the cupboard for 21 day, or else it would turn into wine. > [http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ingenious-brick-helped-wine-industry-survive-prohibition-180956412/](http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/ingenious-brick-helped-wine-industry-survive-prohibition-180956412/) Heh. WARNING: Do not leave this is cool, dark place for 21 days at a temperature between 50 - 60 deg F with an air trap on the top to allow air to escape but not to enter. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/10 "2016-12-13T14:16:20Z")
The book _Last Call_ has a detailed account of the booming trade in wine for “sacramental”/religious purposes as well as alleged medicinal uses of booze.\* \*a lot of doctor’s prescriptions for alcohol were for treating “debility”. Some druggists made out like bandits. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/11 "2016-12-13T14:22:56Z")
I recall that even in the 1950s (maybe even today) you could buy kosher wine at the synagogue. I think it may have even been untaxed. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2016, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/regarding-prohibition-in-usa/774538/12 "2016-12-13T19:23:50Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > The book _Last Call_ has a detailed account of the booming trade in wine for “sacramental”/religious purposes as well as alleged medicinal uses of booze.\* > > \*a lot of doctor’s prescriptions for alcohol were for treating “debility”. Some druggists made out like bandits. Yeah, there were instances of wine being ordered by Rabbi O’Riley or Anderson…