The Twenty-first Amendment

The Twenty-first Amendment repealed the Eighteenth Amendment, ending national Prohibition, and in its second section prohibited the transportation or importation of alcoholic beverages into any state in violation of that state's laws. Congress proposed it on February 20, 1933, during the Great Depression, as public opinion turned against Prohibition, and it was ratified on December 5, 1933. It is the only amendment that repealed another and the only one ratified by state conventions rather than legislatures, a method chosen to bypass legislatures thought to favor the dry cause.

Section 2 gave states unusual power over alcohol. After repeal, most states adopted a three-tier system separating producers, distributors, and retailers, some created state-run liquor stores, and many counties remain dry by local choice. Congress used its spending power to encourage a national drinking age of 21 through the National Minimum Drinking Age Act of 1984, which reduced highway funds for states with lower ages, and the Supreme Court upheld that condition in South Dakota v. Dole in 1987.

The Court has limited state power where it discriminates against out-of-state businesses. In Granholm v. Heald in 2005, it struck down laws letting in-state wineries ship directly to consumers while barring out-of-state wineries, and in Tennessee Wine and Spirits Retailers Association v. Thomas in 2019 it struck down a residency requirement for liquor store licenses. Federal regulation of alcohol labeling and taxes falls to the Treasury's Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau.