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Alcohol laws of Maryland vary considerably by county, due to the wide latitude of home rule granted to Maryland counties.

State laws[edit]

Underage possession and consumption[edit]

It is illegal under state law[1] for a person under the age of 21 to possess or consume an alcoholic beverage, but the law contains several exceptions:

  • Underage individuals who are employees of businesses that hold a valid state-issued liquor license may possess (but not consume) alcohol in the course of their job during regular business hours. Common examples are serving alcoholic drinks to customers of a restaurant, making deliveries for a catering company, and stocking shelves at a store that sells alcohol.
  • Alcohol may be possessed or consumed by an underage person in a private residence so long as it is furnished or allowed by a member of that person's immediate family (typically a parent).
  • Alcohol may be consumed as part of a religious ceremony, such as the Roman Catholic or Episcopal Communion rite.

It is a separate offense for an underage person to misrepresent age for the purpose of obtaining alcohol,[2] or to possess any sort of card or document that falsely identifies the person's age.[3] An underage person who illegally possesses alcohol or false identification is subject to a citation rather than arrest, and the event is considered a civil offense, meaning that it does not count as a criminal conviction and cannot result in imprisonment in and of itself.[4] This is because the reason for the drinking age in the first place is that the law does not consider individuals under 21 to be responsible enough to consume alcohol unsupervised; therefore holding them fully criminally responsible would be paradoxical.

Furnishing alcohol to underage persons[edit]

Except for the specific exempt circumstances provided in Maryland law, it is also illegal for anyone to purchase alcohol for someone under 21,[5] or to give it to them. Maryland alcohol laws require that the defendant knew the person was under 21, and purchased or furnished alcohol for that underage person to consume. In addition, it is also illegal for an adult who owns or leases property, and lives at that property, to knowingly and willfully allow anyone under 21 to consume alcohol there, unless they are members of the same immediate family. This law does not necessarily make homeowners criminally responsible for any illegal drinking at their residence, unless they were both aware of it and intentionally allowed it to happen.[6]

Employment[edit]

A person must be at least 21 years old to be employed to serve alcoholic beverages or sell alcoholic beverages, although some counties have different laws. A person must be at least 18 years old to work in another capacity at an establishment that serves alcohol.

Open containers[edit]

State law prohibits open containers with any amount of alcohol within the passenger area of a motor vehicle.[7] Passengers of a vehicle are similarly prohibited from consuming alcohol in the passenger area, but the law provides exceptions for non-drivers in the back of hired vehicles such as taxis, limousines, and buses, as well as in the living areas of motor homes. The driver is also shielded from prosecution if it is based solely on another occupant of the vehicle having an open container.[7] This law only considers certain parts of a vehicle to be the "passenger area," and excludes locked glove compartment, trunks, and the area behind the rear-most seats if the vehicle has no trunk (such as those commonly found in vans and SUVs).[8] Like underage possession above, violation of the open container law is a civil offense.[9]

Taxation[edit]

In July 2011, Maryland's taxation of alcohol was increased for the first time since the 1970s, from 6 percent to 9 percent.[10] The tax is applied at the consumer level, appearing as a line-item on the customer's receipt.[10]

County laws[edit]

County Alcoholic beverage control county Alcohol sale hours Grocery Store Sales
Beer Wine Spirits On-premises Off-premises Beer Wine Spirits
Allegany County No 24hrs at Rocky Gap Casino Only[a] 7 a.m. – 2 a.m., Monday – Saturday.
11 a.m. – 12 a.m. Sunday. 		No
Anne Arundel County No 6 a.m. - 2 a.m. No
Baltimore City No 6 a.m. – 2 a.m.[b][c] 6 a.m. – 12 a.m. (Monday – Saturday)[d][e] No
Baltimore County No 6 a.m. – 2 a.m.[f] 6 a.m. – 12 a.m. Monday – Saturday.[g] No
Calvert County No Follows state law. No
Caroline County No Unknown Yes
Carroll County No 8 a.m. – 11 p.m. Monday – Saturday
11 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sunday.[h] 		No
Cecil County No 6 a.m. – 2 a.m. Monday – Saturday.
10 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sunday.[i] 		6 a.m. – 2 a.m. Monday – Saturday.
8 a.m. – 11 p.m. Sunday.[i] 		Rarely
Charles County No Unknown No
Dorchester County No Unknown No
Frederick County No 6 a.m. – 2 a.m. Monday – Saturday.
11 a.m. – 2 a.m. Sunday.[14][j] 		No
Garrett County No Unknown Unknown
Harford County No 8 a.m. – 2 a.m. No
Howard County No Unknown No
Kent County No Unknown Unknown
Montgomery County Yes Unknown Spirits stores: 10:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m. Monday – Thursday.
10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Sundays: see notes.[k]
Beer and wine stores: 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 a.m. 		No (some grandfathered in)[16][l]
Prince George's County No Retail: 6 a.m. – 2 a.m., except Sunday.
Bars: 6 a.m. – 2 a.m.[m] 		Beer and wine.[n]
Queen Anne's County No Unknown No
Saint Mary's County No Yes All yes
Somerset County Yes Unknown Unknown
Talbot County No Unknown Yes
Washington County No Unknown No
Wicomico County Yes Unknown Yes
Worcester County Yes Unknown Yes

History[edit]

Prior to 1973, the minimum age to buy or possess alcoholic beverages was 21 years old. In 1973, the minimum age was decreased to 18 years old in Montgomery County and Prince George's County. In 1974, the minimum age was decreased to 18 years old for the entire state. In 1982,[18] the minimum age was increased to 21 years old but with a grandfather clause which allowed those who had already turned 18 (born June 30, 1964 or earlier) to consume beer and wine.[19][20]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Restaurants may sell alcoholic beverages 1 p.m. – 2 a.m. on Sunday.
  2. ^ 6 a.m. – 1 a.m. for 6-day tavern licenses.[11]
  3. ^ No Sunday sales, except for those Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Years upon issuance of special license.[11]
  4. ^ Class BD-7 licensees may sell alcohol for off-site consumption 6 a.m. – 2 a.m.[11]
  5. ^ No Sunday sales, except for those Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Years upon issuance of special license.[11]
  6. ^ 6 a.m. – 1 a.m. (for Class D beer/wine licenses).
  7. ^ No off-premises Sunday sales, except for the Sunday preceding Christmas Day and the Sunday preceding New Year's Eve, between 7 a.m. – 9 p.m.[12]
  8. ^ No retail off-premises store may be larger than 10,000 square feet (930 m2).[13]
  9. ^ a b One liquor license per store/corporation.
  10. ^ An off-premises license may not be issued to any franchised establishment.[14]
  11. ^ The Department of Liquor Control operates its liquor dispensaries on Sundays from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.[15]
  12. ^ In Montgomery County, six grocery chains — Giant Food, Safeway, Shoppers Food & Pharmacy, Magruder's, Bestway Supermercado, and 7-Eleven — and one independent grocery store - Snider's Foods - received an exception from the state law that bans grocery stores from selling beer and wine under a grandfather clause.[17] These seven stores are allowed to have one location that sells beer and wine in Montgomery County: Giant's New Hampshire Avenue store in the White Oak neighborhood of Silver Spring, Safeway in Olney, Shoppers in Germantown, Magruder's in Gaithersburg (NOTE: all Maryland Magruder's locations were closed in 2013), Bestway Supermercado in the Long Branch neighborhood of Silver Spring, Snider's Foods in the Woodside neighborhood of Silver Spring, and 7-Eleven's store on Georgia Avenue in Aspen Hill.[17] These licenses can be transferred to any of the chain's other locations in Montgomery County subject to approval by the county Board of License Commissioners.[17]
  13. ^ Bars that feature live entertainment may serve alcohol until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights.
  14. ^ Each corporation may sell beer and wine at only one location. The Shoppers in College Park and the Giant in Lanham are two examples.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-114. "Underage possession"". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-113: Misrepresentation of age". General Assembly of Maryland. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  3. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-115: False documentation". General Assembly of Maryland. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-119: Citation". General Assembly of Maryland. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  5. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-116: Obtaining for underage consumption". General Assembly of Maryland. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  6. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-117. "Furnishing for or allowing underage consumption"". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Criminal Code § 10-125. "Violations"". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Transportation Code § 21-903. "Consumption of alcoholic beverages while driving on highway"". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-126. "Citation; civil offense"". Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  10. ^ a b Nathans, Aaron (July 9, 2011). "Del. package stores hope to benefit from Md. tax". The News Journal (New Castle, Delaware). Archived from the original on July 11, 2011.
  11. ^ a b c d "Alcoholic Beverages Rules and Regulations for the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City" (PDF). City of Baltimore. Retrieved 14 December 2022.
  12. ^ "Liquor Board Rules and Regulations". Baltimore County Board of Liquor License Commissioners. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  13. ^ "Liquor Board Rules and Regulations" (PDF). Carroll County Board of Liquor License Commissioners. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Alcoholic Beverage Regulations" (PDF). Frederick County Liquor Board. 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 14, 2016. Retrieved May 5, 2015.
  15. ^ Montgomery County Expands Sunday Sales to Liquor Stores Archived 2010-12-19 at the Wayback Machine
  16. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control. 2008-07-11. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-06.
  17. ^ a b c Kristi Tousignant. "Briggs Chaney Will Lose Beer and Wine Sales at Grocery". Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine The Gazette. 25 January 2012. Retrieved 20 April 2013.
  18. ^ "Newspaper Archive". Cumberland News. 1982-06-30. Retrieved 2018-09-30.
  19. ^ Richburg, Keith (1982-03-11). "Md. Senate Votes 21 as Drinking Age". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
  20. ^ "Grandfathered Teen-agers". The Washington Post. 1982-07-03. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcohol_laws_of_Maryland

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