The sun is out, the weather is warm and picnics in the park or hangouts at the harbor are beckoning. But can you take that six-pack of beer with you? Here’s what Maryland’s open container laws have to say. Whether you’re at a park, a beach or a city square, drinking in a public area isn’t allowed in Maryland unless it’s part of an event that has permission to serve alcoholic beverages.
“It’s not like New Orleans, where you can walk around with an open container,” said Randolph Rice, a partner at the law firm Rice Murtha & Psoras. Rice grew up in Louisiana and went to school in New Orleans, where drinking in the streets is allowed as part of the city’s culture of “laissez les bons temps rouler” — let the good times roll. Most other parts of the country aren’t nearly as permissive with their public drinking laws.
“In Maryland, there really is nowhere that it’s legal,” Rice said. Baltimore’s liquor board does, however, issue permits for festivals where alcoholic drinks are sold. That’s why you can stroll Artscape, for instance, with a drink in hand, or sip a glass of rosé at the Wine Village in the Inner Harbor.
Consumption of alcoholic beverages in public is a misdemeanor under Maryland law, with a relatively minor punishment of a fine up to $100. But Rice said public drinking and open container laws aren’t frequently enforced on their own. “The police usually look the other way if you’re not being loud, obnoxious, or doing it openly,.