Drinking Beer On Mississippi Streets: What's The Law?

Mississippi has a complex history of alcohol laws. While the state has no open container laws, it is illegal to be intoxicated in public. So, while you can drink beer on the street, you cannot be drunk while doing so. Mississippi also has no law against drinking while driving, as long as your blood alcohol content remains below the legal limit. However, individual counties and cities may have their own regulations regarding public drinking and open containers in vehicles, so it is important to be aware of local laws when consuming alcohol in Mississippi.

Drinking on the street is legal, but public intoxication is not

Mississippi has a long history of strict alcohol laws. In 1839, the state banned the purchase of more than one gallon of alcohol at a time. In 1908, it was one of the first states to pass prohibition, and it kept the law in place until 1966, 33 years after the 21st Amendment stopped the practice.

Even today, Mississippi's alcohol laws are complex. The state gives local counties and municipalities the freedom to create and enforce their own alcohol regulations. This means that the exact laws on public drinking vary from county to county.

However, there is no statewide law against public drinking in Mississippi. In fact, you can even drink alcohol while driving, as there are no open container laws. Nevertheless, public intoxication is illegal in Mississippi. The law against it is known as "profanity or drunkenness in a public place". It states that anyone who is drunk in a public place in the presence of two or more people is guilty of a crime against public morals and decency. The penalty for this offence is a fine of up to $100 and a jail sentence of up to 30 days.

In addition, it is always illegal to be intoxicated on public transport in Mississippi.

Beer and light wine are sold in grocery and convenience stores

Mississippi has a long history of strict alcohol laws. Although the state repealed its prohibition law in 1966, it continued to allow individual counties to ban alcohol sales. It was only in 2020 that the possession of alcohol was legalised across all counties.

Despite this, Mississippi's alcohol laws remain complex, largely because the state gives local counties and municipalities the freedom to create and enforce their own alcohol regulations. This means that public drinking laws can vary from county to county.

In Mississippi, beer is defined as a malt-based beverage that contains no more than 8% alcohol by weight. Beer with an alcohol content greater than 8% is not legal in the state. Wine-based products with an alcohol content of less than 5% by weight are regulated like beer and are known as light wine products. These are typically marketed as wine coolers. Spirits-based products with an alcohol content of 6% or less are also regulated in the same way as beer.

Beer, light wine, and light spirits cannot be sold in package stores. Similarly, alcoholic beverages (distilled spirits with more than 6% alcohol by weight and wine products with more than 5% alcohol by weight) cannot be sold in convenience or grocery stores. Beer, light wine, and light spirits are available for purchase in grocery and convenience stores, which can sell these products 24/7.

In Mississippi, the legal drinking age for beer and/or alcohol is 21 years. However, those aged 18-21 can consume beer with the consent of their parent or legal guardian when in their presence. It is important to note that this exception does not include hard liquor or wine products that contain more than 5% alcohol by weight.

You can drink while driving, but your BAC must be under 0.08%

Mississippi has some unique alcohol laws. While public drinking is not explicitly prohibited, public intoxication is illegal. The law against public intoxication is known as "profanity or drunkenness in a public place". This means that anyone drunk in a public place in the presence of two or more people is guilty of a crime and can be fined up to $100 and/or jailed for up to 30 days.

The state also has no open container laws, meaning that passengers are allowed to drink freely from open containers of alcohol while in a motor vehicle. Interestingly, the driver is also permitted to drink while driving, as long as their blood alcohol content (BAC) remains below 0.08%. This limit is even lower for drivers under 21, who must remain under 0.02% BAC.

It is important to note that while drinking while driving may be legal in Mississippi under certain conditions, driving under the influence (DUI) is still illegal and can result in penalties ranging from minor to severe.

The lack of open container laws in Mississippi is notable, as it is one of the only states without such regulations. However, it is worth mentioning that some counties and cities within the state have passed their own ordinances to ban drinking in motor vehicles. As a result, the laws regarding drinking and driving can vary from one area to another, and it is always important to be aware of local regulations.

Mississippi has a long history of supporting prohibition

The first successful effort to limit the sale of alcohol in Mississippi was in 1874, when a law was passed requiring anyone selling alcohol to obtain a license from a majority of the area's registered voters and all women over the age of fourteen. The movement gained momentum in the late 1800s and early 1900s, with the formation of new organizations such as the WCTU and the first major success of the Prohibition movement occurring when the legislature passed a local-option law allowing counties to prohibit the sale of alcohol.

By the early 20th century, the sale of alcohol was illegal or seriously limited in most of the state's counties, with the counties along the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast being the primary exceptions. In 1907, the Mississippi legislature passed a strict bill that went into effect at the end of 1908, banning alcohol sales across the state except for small allowances for medicinal purposes. Homemade wine was still permitted, but those caught distilling or selling alcohol faced heavy fines and jail sentences.

Mississippi was the first state to ratify the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919, which banned the sale of alcohol nationwide. The state's supporters of Prohibition argued from religious, economic, and racial perspectives, with religious leaders emphasizing the negative effects of alcohol on society and stable homes. Prohibition in Mississippi also had a complex relationship with race, with some white supporters claiming that drunk African American men posed a threat to white women, while some African American leaders supported Prohibition as part of programs to promote uplift and respectability in their communities.

Despite the nationwide repeal of Prohibition in 1933, Mississippi continued to enforce it and was the last state to fully repeal Prohibition within its borders in 1966. Even after the repeal, some cities and counties in Mississippi still enforced a ban or limits on alcohol sales, and the state's alcohol laws remain diverse and peculiar to this day.

Alcohol laws vary from county to county

Mississippi's alcohol laws are complex, largely because the state gives local counties and municipalities freedom in creating and enforcing their own alcohol regulations. This means that the laws may vary from county to county, and even from city to city.

For example, while there is no statewide open container law, some counties and cities have passed their own ordinances to ban drinking in a motor vehicle.

Mississippi has a long history of supporting prohibition, and it was one of the first states to pass prohibition in 1908. Even after the 21st Amendment stopped the practice in 1933, Mississippi kept prohibition in place until 1966. In 2020, the possession of alcohol in every county was finally legalized. However, individual counties were still allowed to ban the sale of alcohol if they wanted.

Another example of how the laws vary is in the hours that alcohol can be sold. While liquor stores are open from 10 am to 10 pm Monday to Saturday across the state, the hours for on-premise alcohol sales are decided by local authorities in many counties.

The state also has different excise taxes for different types of alcohol. Beer is taxed at $0.43 per gallon, wine at $0.35 per gallon, and distilled spirits are state-controlled and sold in ABC stores.

In addition, Mississippi has unique laws regarding who can drink alcohol and where. For instance, people between 18 and 21 years old can drink beer and light wine with parental supervision. However, this exception does not include hard liquor or wine products that contain more than 5% alcohol by weight.

Furthermore, while it is illegal to be intoxicated on public transit, it is legal to drink alcohol while driving, as long as the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) remains below 0.08%drivers under 21 must remain under the BAC limit of 0.02%.

Finally, it is worth noting that Mississippi has many dry counties where it is illegal to bring in or transport alcohol.

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