The enactment of the 18th Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919, established the prohition over intoxicating liquors in the United States, banning its production, transport, and sale in the so-called dry cities. The prohibition remained operative for 13 years and was finally removed with the approval of the 21st Amendment in 1933.
Liquors could not be sold legally in stores, but the prohibition led to the proliferation of a black market where mafias enriched themselves by selling overpriced alcoholic beverages.