<P> An 1857 Missouri statute left all liquor regulation to localities, including the question whether to go dry, except the collection of licensing fees . As a result, despite the lack of statewide prohibition, by the end of nationwide prohibition in 1934 half of Missouri's counties had gone dry . Immediately, though, Missouri enacted its first Liquor Control Law, which repealed and superseded those local laws . This was the first time Missouri had any statewide control of liquor . Today, Missouri has no dry jurisdictions whatsoever . </P> <P> Before state alcohol regulation began in 1934, many Missouri cities, including both St. Louis and Kansas City, had banned Sunday liquor sales . Missouri's original 1934 Liquor Control Law prohibited Sunday sales of beverages with more than 5% alcohol by volume, but this restriction was lifted entirely in 1975 . </P> <P> For 2013, the annual "Freedom in the 50 States" study prepared by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University ranked Missouri third in the nation in alcohol freedom, noting Missouri's "alcohol regime is one of the least restrictive in the United States, with no blue laws and taxes well below average ." </P> <P> Unlike many states, the alcohol laws of Missouri do not differentiate between types of alcohol based on the percentage of alcohol in a given beverage . Missouri's Liquor Control Law covers any "alcohol for beverage purposes, alcohol, spiritous, vinous, fermented, malt, or other liquors, or combination of liquors, a part of which is spiritous, vinous, or fermented, and all preparations or mixtures for beverage purposes, containing in excess of one - half of one percent by volume ." Thus, the Liquor Control Law covers any type of alcoholic beverage which contains more than 0.5% alcohol by volume . </P>

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