# Alcoholic Beverages and Cannabis (GAB)

## Title 23. Howard County

### Subtitle 25. Unlicensed Establishments

#### Section 23-2501

(a) In this subtitle, "place of adult entertainment" means an establishment that:

  (1) is not licensed by the Board but to which a customer brings alcoholic beverages that the customer has purchased elsewhere; and

  (2) allows at its location a form of sexual display or attire prohibited under Sec. 4-605 of this article.

(b) An individual who serves food, alcoholic beverages, or setups, including drinking containers and ice, in a place of adult entertainment or who supervises or manages a place of adult entertainment shall:

  (1) receive alcohol awareness training as provided in Sec. 4-508 of this article; and

  (2) refuse to facilitate the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages by a customer who appears to be inebriated.

(c) The hours and days during which a place of public entertainment may be open are Monday through Saturday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m. the following day.

(d)

  (1) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 for each violation.

  (2) Each day of operation in violation of this section is a separate violation.

#### Section 23-2502

(a) A person may not bring into a place of adult entertainment and consume or transfer alcoholic beverages, if the entertainment in the place is adult entertainment described in Sec. 4-605 of this article.

(b) A person who operates a place of adult entertainment may not allow a female entertainer to exhibit her breasts below the top of the areola or exhibit the cleft of her buttocks.

(c)

  (1) A person who operates a place of adult entertainment who knowingly allows a violation of this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $5,000 for each violation.

  (2) Each day of operation in violation of this section is a separate violation.

#### Section 23-2503

(a) From 2 a.m. to 6 a.m. on any day, an individual may not consume alcoholic beverages in:

  (1) an establishment open to the public;

  (2) a place of public entertainment; or

  (3) a place at which setups or other component parts of mixed alcoholic beverages are sold under a license issued under the Business Regulation Article.

(b) An owner or a manager of an establishment or a place specified in subsection (a) of this section may not knowingly allow consumption of alcoholic beverages between the hours specified in subsection (a) of this section.

(c) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and on conviction is subject to a fine not exceeding $50.

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Md. Code Ann., Alco. Bev. (as displayed at mgaleg.maryland.gov, October 16, 2026)