Mapp Act
Under the Mapp Act, Virginia began statewide prohibition in 1916, three years before the 18th Amendment instituted national Prohibition.
On March 10, 1916, Virginia enacted statewide prohibition with an act of the General Assembly–commonly known as the “Mapp Act.” The purpose of which, briefly put, was to prohibit the manufacture, sale and importation of intoxicating liquors. The act forbade Virginians from producing or selling—but not consuming—alcoholic beverages. The act went into effect on November 1, 1916.
This act made it “unlawful to manufacture, transport, sell, keep or store for sale, offer, advertise, or expose for sale, give away, or dispense, or solicit in any way, or receive orders for or aid in procuring ardent spirits.” After national prohibition went into effect in January 1920, and after the 18th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified, the National Prohibition Act (Volstead Act), was enacted in 1919 (effective in 1920) to provide legislation for the enforcement of the Eighteenth Amendment.
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