# What 'dry' jusisdictions (counties, countries) are there? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 11, 2003, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687 "2003-11-11T21:45:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![The\_Sweetest\_Thing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@The\_Sweetest\_Thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Sweetest_Thing)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/21 "2003-11-13T21:10:11Z")
Yet you can go into a Louisiana Grocery store and buy hard liquor. This Texas girl had never seen such a thing! But then this Texas girl was amazed when she drove through four states in the NE in less than two hours. You can’t get from Houston to Dallas in less than four! ---
**Author:** ![Yossarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/9de0a6/32.png) [@Yossarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yossarian)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/22 "2003-11-13T21:24:43Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by brianjedi \* > \*\*Couple of nitpicks: Kentucky has 120 counties, and only 30 are fully “wet.” 26 counties are “moist,” meaning they either allow partial sales, or they contain a city that has permitted sales. > > For example, my hometown of Mayfield just approved by-the-drink sales in restaurants, but all other sales in both the city and county are still illegal. \*\* D’oh! I just (3 months ago) moved from North Carolina (where I’d only lived for a year)… where there are 100 counties. I’m getting facts about my “new states” mixed up. 100 counties in NC 120 counties in KY Nonetheless, Richmond is fully wet and that’s what’s most important! ---
**Author:** ![mrbuddylee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/51bf81/32.png) [@mrbuddylee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mrbuddylee)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 10:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/23 "2003-11-13T22:05:12Z")
Edwards County, IL is dry (voted that in a few years ago) which I find odd because it’s in the middle of no where, and I figured that’s all there was to do there. ---
**Author:** ![CaptBushido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a88e4f/32.png) [@CaptBushido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaptBushido)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/24 "2003-11-13T22:28:38Z")
> [@](#): > > As noted on the linked list, Lubbock County, Texas, is dry. But, it needs some explanation: > > To Lubbock County, “dry” means “no package liquor sales”. There are plenty of bars around here, and many if not most restaurants serve beer. The limitation is, you can’t buy anything sealed. If you order a bucket of longnecks, the bartender will uncap all of them before they’re sent to your table. You cannot buy beer, wine, or any other form of alcohol in convenience stores or grocery stores within the county, and there are no liquor stores in Lubbock. > > Outside the county, on the Tahoka Highway, is an area called “The Strip”. The Strip is a big strip of liquor stores clumped closely together. At night, the place is lit up like Las Vegas. You can drive out to The Strip, buy whatever kind of liquor you want, and drive back into Lubbock with it for later enjoyment (except on the Texas Tech campus, where alcohol is forbidden) and not run afoul of the law. > > So, getting alcohol is mildly inconvenient, but it’s really just an annoyance. The only time it really bothered me is when I was looking into having some Inniskillin shipped to me, and I found my ZIP code on a list of “destinations to which we cannot ship”. If I have any idea what I’m talking about (which I THINK I do, since I grew up in Lubbock, but then again - I’m not of legal drinking age, so maybe not), then I think this just describes the CITY not the COUNTY. ---
**Author:** ![hermann](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b487fb/32.png) [@hermann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hermann)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2003, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/25 "2003-11-13T23:17:34Z")
Kemper Boyd…registered member since Apr 99 and this is Post #2. Must have been a very important question. ---
**Author:** ![NothingMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b77776/32.png) [@NothingMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NothingMan)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/26 "2003-11-14T00:36:07Z")
Perhaps this is too small an addition to the list but the University of Tennessee here in Knoxville is a dry campus. Sure you can walk a block off campus and imbibe all you want, but no alcohol is allowed within the bounds of the school. ---
**Author:** ![TOO](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@TOO](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TOO)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/27 "2003-11-14T04:27:43Z")
I grew up in a dry village in Ohio. I don’t think it actually prevents the sale of much alcohol, seeing as how, aside from the multiple vendors right outside the village limits, the actual dry area contains fewer than 1,000 people and maybe 10 streets. In other words, not really much space for a liquor store, but whatever. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/28 "2003-11-14T04:47:19Z")
**Ringo** I worked at the Red Lobster in Pasadena, Tx when it opened 25 years ago. IIRC, the liquor law, the restaurant could serve alcohol, but drinks had to be prepared out-of-sight of children. The bar didn’t have stools, the bartender worked out of an oversized closet. Furthermore, IIRC, the drinking age was 18. ---
**Author:** ![Stan\_Doubt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@Stan\_Doubt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stan_Doubt)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/29 "2003-11-14T04:47:50Z")
2 of 5? towns on Martha’s Vineyard (AKA Mah-thah’s Vin-yid) are dry. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Long\_Road](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5a626/32.png) [@The\_Long\_Road](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Long_Road)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 9:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/30 "2003-11-14T09:12:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The\_Sweetest\_Thing \* > \*\*Yet you can go into a Louisiana Grocery store and buy hard liquor. This Texas girl had never seen such a thing! … > \*\* Which causes confusion for us Louisiana folk when out-of-towners ask where they can buy hard liquor. Isn’t everyone able to buy the good stuff from a gas station or a grocery store at any time of the day??? A tourist once asked me where he could purchase a “package”. I figured he meant drugs until he made it clear. Then again, living in New Orleans gives one a certain odd view of alcohol consumption. The dry counties I’ve encountered in Mississippi usually only allow alcohol to be bought and consumed in bars. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Derfel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lord\_Derfel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Derfel)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/31 "2003-11-14T13:10:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Kemper Boyd \* > **I understand some western Canadian counties are dry (no alcohol sold).** No one has addressed this yet. AFAIK, it is false. In BC at least, there is no such thing as a county, and in 28 years of living there, I never heard of a region where alcohol could not be sold. I can’t speak for any of the other western provinces. But, again, I’ve never heard of any significant area where alcohol sales are prohibited in Canada. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/32 "2003-11-14T13:14:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*I can vouch that not all of the United Arab Emirates is dry for those not of the Muslim faith. Plenty of booze is served at the clubs in both Abu Dhabi & Dubai. \*\* Having drunk myself giddy in an Irish pub in Dubai, I can confirm this. I believe it’s down to the individual emirate - Sharjah is dry, for example. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Sweetest\_Thing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e480ec/32.png) [@The\_Sweetest\_Thing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Sweetest_Thing)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/33 "2003-11-14T15:54:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by The Long Road \* > \*\*Which causes confusion for us Louisiana folk when out-of-towners ask where they can buy hard liquor. Isn’t everyone able to buy the good stuff from a gas station or a grocery store at any time of the day??? A tourist once asked me where he could purchase a “package”. I figured he meant drugs until he made it clear. Then again, living in New Orleans gives one a certain odd view of alcohol consumption. > > The dry counties I’ve encountered in Mississippi usually only allow alcohol to be bought and consumed in bars. \*\* In Texas, you can only get hard liquor at bonafide liquor store. The strongest you get at a grocery store in Texas is Wine, beer and wine colors. You will never find a bottle of Jack Daniels at the local H.E.B. Gas stations only carry beer and wine colors. (Don’t think I have ever seen them carry wine). At one point in time, you could not order wine from any wineries outside of Texas and ask them to export it to your home. I believe now that Texas law has changed, and it can be shipped to your home (as long as you are not in a dry county/area). 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/34 "2003-11-14T16:09:38Z")
There is a dry town in Montgomery County MD called Damascus. I never did understand that one and it’s the only one in Maryland I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Mephisto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@Mephisto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mephisto)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/35 "2003-11-14T16:16:59Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by seal\_cleaner \* > \*\*Benton County, home of Wal-Mart, is dry. No liquor stores. However, on-premises consumption is rampant. Technically, you need to be a private club to serve. but everyone ignores this. There are more places to get a drink in Bentonville (dry) than in nearby Springdale (wet). \*\* Sounds like Craighead (also in Arkansas), a dry county with at least three clubs where you can drink all the alcohol you want. ---
**Author:** ![seal\_cleaner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e274bd/32.png) [@seal\_cleaner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/seal_cleaner)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/36 "2003-11-14T16:42:48Z")
I’ve always thought that “dry” counties helped make Arkansas one of the most dangerous states to drive in (that and the preponderance of bad 2 lane roads). Safer to let folks buy booze and go home than make it available only for on-premises consumption - then a fine drive home… ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/37 "2003-11-14T21:31:08Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Xema \* > \*\*So the BATF undertakes to enforce a local law? \*\* Sure. Section 2 of the [twenty-first amendment](http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/data/constitution/amendment21/), which repealed the Prohibition amendment, provides that it’s still a Federal offense to violate local laws against transporting or importing liquor for beverage purposes. Now admittedly at the Jack Daniels distillery there’s no question of “transportation”, since that’s where the liquor originally came into existence. So in short, I can see how the BATF does have the jurisdiction to enforce local dry laws as long as transportation or importation is involved, but I don’t understand how they can enforce this particular law. ---
**Author:** ![Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spectre_of_pithecanthropus/32/12343_2.png) [@Spectre\_of\_Pithecanthropus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spectre_of_Pithecanthropus)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2003, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687/38 "2003-11-14T21:37:01Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Lord Derfel \* > \*\*No one has addressed this yet. AFAIK, it is false. In BC at least, there is no such thing as a county, and in 28 years of living there, I never heard of a region where alcohol could not be sold. > > I can’t speak for any of the other western provinces. But, again, I’ve never heard of any significant area where alcohol sales are prohibited in Canada. \*\* As recently as 1960, according to my World Book encyclopedia published that year, Prince Edward Island was completely dry, at least with respect to hard liquor, which was allowed only for medicinal use. Mississipi had statewide prohibition by constitutional amendment, but provided a local option mechanism whereby cities or counties could “vote themselves out from under” the prohibition law. Probabably by the time statewide prohibition was repealed in 1966, most of the bigger cities had done so. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-dry-jusisdictions-counties-countries-are-there/212687.md?page=1)