Strange laws on alcohol in the United States, which surprised the Russian-speaking immigrant

Author of the channel “Americano | Americano" on Yandex.Zen spoke about American alcohol laws that surprised him after moving to the United States. Next - from the first person.

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After moving to the United States, I was constantly amazed at local laws, customs and customs, but this is not surprising: the country is completely different, I often got into trouble because of ignorance of local laws or customs. Perhaps this article will help future tourists or expats, or maybe just amuse my compatriots!

By the way, I must remind you that alcohol has a detrimental effect on your health, I do not recommend its use, and even more so its abuse, take care of yourself and your loved ones!

I remembered the first law perfectly: an absurd situation was connected with it.

Literally in the first month after moving, I went to the store and decided to buy a bottle of local American bourbon. However, in the first store there was nothing stronger than beer and cocktails. Okay - I went to the next store - the same story. Already in the third store, I finally decided to ask the seller, then our dialogue:

“Where is there actually something stronger?”
“It’s left in Russia, go ahead...”

Okay, this is just a joke.

In fact, it turned out that strong alcohol (stronger than 8 degrees, if I’m not mistaken) is sold in separate stores that sell only alcohol. They don't sell it in regular stores. It may seem inconvenient to go somewhere else to buy booze after shopping, but in fact, such stores are often located next to large supermarkets, or even located in their buildings. Why this was done - I still don’t understand. In my opinion, this is pointless, but I am not an expert, maybe this will make it better for someone.

But due to ignorance of the next law, you can already get a fine.

Moreover, I consider it even more incomprehensible and useless in principle. In the United States, you cannot transport open alcohol in a car. For violation there is a fine. So, if you are driving a friend in the car who decided to drink a bottle of beer, you will have to wait until he drains it, or put the bottle in the trunk. Honestly, I don’t understand the meaning of this law, what is it aimed at, what benefits does it bring? Unclear.

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Next, a fairly well-known law is the sale of alcohol to persons over 21 years of age.

Actually, I'm not against it, it's right not to let children buy alcohol. But specifically in the USA, you can study and pass your driving license from the age of 16, undergo military training from the age of 17, and go on military operations from the age of 20. Now we can imagine the picture: a young guy is driving home with the thought that he will soon be sent to Iraq (for example), but he cannot even stop at the store on the way and buy himself a bottle of beer - in my opinion it sounds absurd.

There is another strange law, but I'm not sure about it.

Legend has it that in the United States you are required to ask for documents when buying alcohol, and no matter how old you are, even if your hair has fallen off and your face is covered with gray bristles. For example, I am constantly asked for documents: the truth is, I'm young enough, in addition, I am always shaved smoothly, which makes me visually even younger. But, again, I often saw documents being asked from very adult people. I can’t say with full confidence, but there are still all the makings to the fact that this is true. A very strange law.

The next law is the time until which alcohol can be sold.

In most states, alcohol is sold before 00:00, that is, before midnight, but in some states it is completely until 02:00. In addition, many institutions offer alcohol delivery service: they can bring you alcohol generally around the clock! The absolute opposite of Russia.

Soft law - the permissible level of alcohol in the blood while driving.

In the USA, the permissible limit of alcohol in a driver’s blood is 0.8 ppm; comparison - in Russia this norm is 0.3 ppm, that is, in the US the norm is almost 3 times higher. How much is this in practice?

About a year ago I talked to a taxi driver, asked about local “special” laws, alcohol was one of them. According to him, you can drink 1-2 bottles of beer and pass the test within 10 minutes. The indicators will be normal. Or a couple of glasses of wine. Agree, compared to Russian laws, this is quite mild.

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And another law is drinking in public places.

I don’t remember how it is with this in Russia, but in the USA, again, it’s quite mild. In general, alcohol is prohibited in public places, but if you buy a special opaque bag, you can forget about this ban and drink whatever you want, anywhere, even in a city park, even on a playground. As far as I've heard, the police can't even check what's in your package as long as you behave appropriately and don't get rowdy (in which case, of course, you'll have questions).

On the one hand, the USA has many strict laws, but on the other hand, there are quite soft laws, and they all relate to the same industry. This is exactly what I was talking about - “from one extreme to another.” This is how we live in the USA, between two fires!

Original column published on the blog. “Americano | Americano" on Yandex.Zen

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