With the option to get almost anything delivered to your home, getting alcohol delivered just got easier in Maryland. A new law allows third party vendors to do the hard work.
Needing to wind down with an alcoholic beverage after a long day? Well House Bill 808 will help with that. It took effect on July 1 and will make it easier for adults to order alcohol from a local licensed merchant to be delivered to their homes through third party delivery companies like Door Dash or Uber Eats.
"It'll be beneficial because we don't have driving staff to go out every couple of minutes or hours or however long we get an order for,” said Alexandra Dasilva, who is the Manager at Uncorked Wine + Spirits in Towson.
Those who purchase or order alcohol must be 21 and show proof of age by ID upon delivery.
Rules that make sense aligning with the law but leaves those like Dasilva skeptical that there are ways around it.
"A concern that we could see with this is that college kids, those that are underage, could just get one person to supply and get it delivered to wherever they're hanging out and you know they just check that one ID. They don't know there's eight other people waiting and are going to drink,” said Dasilva.
Those delivering must be 21 and obtain a delivery service permit that'll be $1,000 annually. Implementation is based on the county.
Some question how well delivery drivers will do their part. "I think it's a tricky situation just because yeah it is safer, so people don't have to drink and drive. I do know that like they would have to verify the identity but that doesn't mean that they can't just like fake identifying the identity,” said Towson University student Nanayaa Ofosu.
The bill states a delivery driver may not deliver alcohol to someone who is outside the jurisdiction where a retail license holder is located.
Penalties for delivery driver violations include a fine of $1,000 to $6,000 and ultimately revoking the service permit.
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