Denver's Prohibition 2020: A Survivor's Story

With the COVID 19 outbreak, we have all witnessed our local, state and federal government agencies taking on the role of supporter, informer, and enforcer. Some of the decisions they've made are hard for the public to handle. With their stay-at-home orders and the constant calming methods to encourage the public to stop panic buying, they've all been faced with adversity at best.

First of all, like many states, all bars and restaurants were ordered to cease all dine-in services. For Denver, this occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The grocery shelves soon became barren of most foods, as well as paper products. Walking through a store and seeing no milk, no eggs, no toilet paper and meat coolers completely empty was unsettling. Frankly, I was soon experiencing panic attacks seeing this dire situation unfold before my eyes.

Believe it or not, this was by far the least of Denver's worries. Shit was about to get really real, really fast. There was nothing more panic-inducing than what Denver's Mayor was about to propose on the citizens of the Mile High City.

Let me start by clarifying Denver's commercial liquor market for you.  Unlike many states that sell liquor at grocery stores or stores that only sell wine, most wine and spirits sales in Colorado are limited to liquor stores. These liquor stores sell everything:  beer, wine, and hard liquors. Grocers and gas stations are only allowed to sell beer; however there are a couple of Kroger grocery stores that now sell everything. Luckily, I have one of these Kroger’s in my neighborhood.

Just one week after the bars and restaurants closed, the Mayor of Denver announced that all marijuana dispensaries and liquor stores were non-essential businesses, and were to close effective 5 pm the following day. The Mayor also recommended that everyone should stock up before the 5 pm deadline. He should have just yelled, "FIRE!" in a crowded theater. 

I wasn't worried; I have quite the bourbon bunker and could live some time without needing more. However, that would mean killing bottles I would have liked to have kept around for a while. The dusties I'm cultivating wouldn't have time to collect dust! My husband, however, was a bit more upset.  "There's got to be something in the Constitution about this... It's against the Geneva Convention." You name it, he was saying it. Joking or not, we knew this was not going to end well for anyone. We were expecting riots and anarchy. And we were right…sort of.

Locals flocked to the liquor stores in droves, lining the blocks surrounding the stores. Staff at many stores had to become instant bouncers in dealing with alarmed and upset patrons. As officials attempt to calm us in this crisis, within moments, it increased to an impossible level with what our Mayor was asking.

Needless to say, the error of his ways quickly became obvious. His decision was immediately reviewed and deemed medically irresponsible. Head Medical Staff in Denver concluded that Denver needed hospital resources for the COVID outbreak and could not risk the overrun of patients experiencing detoxing withdrawals.  So in just under three hours, Denver's Prohibition had ended.

So to what extent would Denverites have gone to procure their alcohol?  The surrounding cities nearby did not follow Denver’s plan to shut down liquor stores, so the traveling to these locations would be no great obstacle. However, that also meant they would be violating stay-at-home orders to go to those stores. They'd be traveling outside their community and into another, possibly at the risk of exposure to surrounding areas of Denver. It could have had a much different outcome.

Thankfully, I live just outside of Denver; I would have felt minimum effects. But don't think for one minute that I won’t be the first on my block to build a still if it came down to it.