J.E. Reno
Prohibition in the United States (1920-1933) was established by the 18th Amendment, which enacted the National Prohibition Act, also known as the Volstead Act.
The Volstead Act stated that “no person shall manufacture, sell, barter, transport, import, export, deliver, or furnish any intoxicating liquor except as authorized by this act.” The key word in this sentence is “except.”
There were a number of exceptions to the Volstead Act, but a main one allowed a physician to prescribe whiskey for his or her patients. And that is where Walgreens comes in to play.
Walgreens began in 1901 as a single, small drug store near downtown Chicago. Due to stiff competition with other drug stores, between 1901 and 1919 the Walgreens chain expanded slowly. At the start of Prohibition, there were only 20 Walgreen stores in its home state of Illinois.
By the end of Prohibition in 1933, however, the Walgreens chain had grown to 600 stores in 30 states. That was a 2500% increase! And much of the growth occurred during the Great Depression when many businesses failed.
According to Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition, the rapid expansion of Walgreens was mostly due to selling alcohol, mainly whiskey. Okrent notes in his book that Walgreens kept whiskey under the counter for filling prescriptions. Walgreens stores also stocked cases of whiskey in their back storerooms. During Prohibition, Walgreens profited greatly from selling prescription whiskey.
According to one of his sons, Charles Walgreen, Sr., owner/founder of the expanding business, constantly worried about fire breaking out in his stores. His worry was not for his employees, though, it was about the fire departments. He wanted the fire departments to get in and out as fast as possible, because whenever the firemen came into a Walgreens to put down a fire, the store would always lose a case of whiskey from the storeroom.
There is irony to the story of whiskey and Walgreens. For although whiskey clearly saved Walgreens and helped in making it the largest drug store chain in the United States, today, Walgreens stores no longer sell whiskey.
J.E. Reno writes fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. His work has been published in numerous literary journals and poetry reviews. He is also known for his colorful mosaics and found art pieces.