If you’ve ever walked around downtown Bloomington, West Lafayette, or really, any college town on a Saturday, it’s pretty clear that people drink and walk. Michelob Ultra and crushed red Solo cups alike are strewn across alleyways and fraternity lawns, and you’ve maybe even seen someone take a swipe out of a crumpled brown bag.
But despite the covert culture around it, it’s technically not illegal in Indiana to drink out of an open container in a public space — well, depending on where you live.
Can you drink in public in Bloomington, Indiana?
In general, no. According to Bloomington’s municipal code, it’s unlawful to consume “any alcoholic beverage in or on any publicly owned place or upon any public street, highway or accessway.”
The only exception to this rule is if you’re drinking at an event for which the Indiana Alcohol and Tobacco Commission has issued a temporary beer permit. One such example is Taste of Bloomington, where you likely saw alcoholic drinks being sold and consumed on Kirkwood Avenue.
Bloomington is not alone in prohibiting public drinking on a city level: West Lafayette, Carmel, Evansville, and many other cities prohibit public drinking with the exception of a Designated Refreshment Area — a span of a few blocks near bars and restaurants where drinking is permitted.
Is it legal to drink in public parks, on sidewalks in Indiana?
Depending on where you live, yes. Indiana is one of only a few states that fully lacks an open container law for public drinking. According to Indianapolis-based law firm Keffer Hirschauer LLP, that means that it’s technically legal in Indiana to drink on a public sidewalk or in a park — albeit with multiple caveats.
What are the exceptions to public drinking in Indiana?
Public intoxication is still illegal in Indiana, as it is across the country. So while the act of drinking in public itself isn’t illegal, if you’re already stumbling, yelling or otherwise causing a public disturbance, that beer can might raise a police officer’s suspicion.
And regardless of if they’re intoxicated or not, it’s still illegal for a minor to knowingly possess alcohol, making those under 21 the exception to this rule.
Reach Brian Rosenzweig at brian@heraldt.com.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Can you drink on the sidewalk in Indiana? It’s complicated.
Reporting by Brian Rosenzweig, The Herald-Times / The Herald-Times
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