Alcohol laws of Maryland

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Alcohol laws of Maryland are unique in that they vary considerably by county, due to the wide latitude of home rule granted to Maryland counties.

Contents

[edit] State Laws

[edit] Underage possession and consumption

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 underaged 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 can be consumed as part of a religious ceremony, such as the Catholic Communion rite.

It is also a separate offense for an underage person to misrepresent their age for purposes of obtaining alcohol,[2] and to merely 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 civil offense, meaning that is 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, and therefore holding them fully criminally responsible would be paradoxical.

[edit] Furnishing alcohol to underage persons

Except for the exceptions provided in the previous section, Maryland's law also makes it illegal for anyone to purchase alcohol for someone under 21,[5] or to give it to them. Both these laws require that the defendant knew the person was under 21, and that they purchased or furnished it for the purpose of that underage person consuming it. 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]

[edit] Taxation

In July 2011, Maryland's taxation of alcohol was increased for the first time since the 1970s, from 6 percent to 9 percent.[7] This taxation is applied at the consumer level, appearing as a line-item on the customer's receipt.[7]

[edit] County laws

County Alcoholic beverage control county Alcohol sale hours Grocery Store Sales Notes
Beer Wine Spirits On-premises Off-premises Beer Wine Spirits
Allegany County No Unknown Unknown
Anne Arundel County No Unknown No
Baltimore City No 6am-2am. 6am-1am for taverns 6am-12am (Mon-Sat) No No Sunday sales, except for those Sundays between Thanksgiving and New Years upon issuance of special license.
Baltimore County No Unknown No
Calvert County No Unknown Unknown
Caroline County No Unknown Unknown
Carroll County No Unknown Unknown
Cecil County No 6am-2am Mon-Sat, 10am-11pm Sun 6am-2am Mon-Sat, 8am-11pm Sun Rarely Only one liquor license per store/corporation
Charles County No Unknown Unknown
Dorchester County No Unknown Unknown
Frederick County No Unknown No
Garrett County No Unknown Unknown
Harford County No 8 a.m.- 2 a.m. No
Howard County No Unknown Unknown
Kent County No Unknown Unknown
Montgomery County Yes Unknown Spirits stores: Monday to Thursdays 10:00am to 9:00pm Friday & Saturday 10:00am to 10:00pm Sundays (See Notes). Beer and wine stores: 10:00am to 1:00 am No (four grocery stores grandfathered[8]) Beginning on November 21, 2010 for a six month period the Department of Liquor Control will operate its liquor dispensaries on Sundays from Noon (12:00pm) to 6:00pm.[9]
Prince George's County No Unknown Yes
Queen Anne's County No Unknown Unknown
Saint Mary's County No Unknown Unknown
Somerset County Yes Unknown Unknown
Talbot County No Unknown Unknown
Washington County No Unknown No
Wicomico County Yes Unknown Unknown
Worcester County Yes Unknown Unknown

[edit] References

  1. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-114. "Underage possession"". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-114&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  2. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-113. "Misrepresentation of age."". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-113&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  3. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-115. "False documentation"". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-115&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  4. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-119. "Citation"". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-119&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  5. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-116. "Obtaining for underage consumption"". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-116&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  6. ^ "Criminal Code § 10-117. "Furnishing for or allowing underage consumption"". http://mlis.state.md.us/asp/statutes_respond.asp?article=gcr&section=10-117&Extension=HTML. Retrieved 11 April 2011. 
  7. ^ a b Aaron, Nathans (9 July 2011), "Del. package stores hope to benefit from Md. tax", The News Journal (New Castle, Delaware), archived from the original on 11 July 2011, http://www.webcitation.org/605Q8t2S3 
  8. ^ "Frequently Asked". Montgomery County Department of Liquor Control. 2008-07-11. http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dlrtmpl.asp?url=/Content/DLC/Liquor/Retail/FAQs.asp. Retrieved 2009-09-06. 
  9. ^ Montgomery County Expands Sunday Sales to Liquor Stores
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