RALEIGH, NC– On Friday December 5, North Carolina’s beer and wine distributors will join their colleagues nationwide in celebrating the 81^st anniversary of the ratification of the 21^st Amendment to the United States Constitution, which repealed Prohibition and established today’s effective system of state-based alcohol regulation. 

On December 5, 1933, Prohibition ended in the United States when 36 states (a three-fourths majority of the then 48 states) ratified the 21^st Amendment to the United States Constitution. The 21^st Amendment repealed the 18^th Amendment, ending 13 years of Prohibition and granting each state the primary authority to enact and enforce alcohol laws.  

Tim Kent, executive director of the N.C. Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association said, “North Carolinians benefit from a system of state-based alcohol regulation that balances robust competition with community desires. Today, consumers of legal drinking age have access to thousands of different brands and styles of beer and wine – from locally-produced products to large multinational labels and imports from around the world – all delivered through a safe, transparent and accountable system. This system works to protect the public and provide consumers with unparalleled choice and value.” 

North Carolina beer and wine distributors are family-owned companies. These companies directly employ more than 5,600 men and women who earn annual wages and benefits averaging $71,385. N.C. beer and wine distributors are responsible for the collection and payment of more than $140 million each year in excise taxes for the state.