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Is it Illegal to Drink on the Beach?

Judge and Gavel

Imagine, if you will: it’s a perfect, sunny day. The sky is a shade of blue to rival the ocean that meets it on the horizon. The ocean waves are ideal for whatever water activity you have planned. The breeze is just enough to cool, but too light to kick up any sand into your drink. And that drink? It’s an ice-cold beer or a perfectly smooth daiquiri. It’s every vacationer’s dream. Until it isn’t.

What that vacation daydream fails to point out, and what can turn a lovely day at the beach into a bit of a nightmare, is that on many beaches (including South Carolina’s North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, and Surfside Beach), it is illegal to possess or consume alcohol, and that being caught with that ice-cold beer or blended beverage will get you arrested.

Yes, that’s right – getting caught with a beer on the beach could cost you up to $500 or jail time. And that’s in addition to initially going to go to jail in your bathing suit!

For Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach, this prohibition joins 24 other beach-related restrictions, including prohibitions on open fires, glass containers, littering, the use of fireworks, and sleeping on the beach after dark. In Surfside Beach, the prohibition is part of a restriction on drinking alcohol in ANY public place. Regardless of the location and despite the popularity of relaxing on the beach with a cold beer or a couple mimosas, the fact is that having a drink on the beach will get you arrested.

If you’ve come to the beach looking to relax with some good friends and a couple of drinks and you find yourself charged with possessing alcohol, beer, or wine on the beach, contact the Complete Legal Defense Team. We can walk you through how we can help keep this from ruining your future.

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