Short answers, pulled from the story.
Nationwide prohibition began in the United States on the 16th of January 1920 when the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect. The Volstead Act implemented this constitutional change by prohibiting the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors.
The Code of Hammurabi stated that if a seller did not receive barley as payment but instead took money or served less beer than the grain measure provided, they would be thrown into water. This legal text from over three thousand years ago represents one of the earliest recorded attempts to regulate alcohol trade through severe punishment.
Today all Nordic countries except Denmark maintain strict controls with government monopolies selling spirits and wine. Sweden introduced a rationing system called the Bratt System in 1914 that remained in force until 1955 while Iceland instituted total prohibition in 1915.
Only about 60 outlets are allowed to sell alcohol in a country of 180 million people. The monthly quota depends on income but averages about five bottles of liquor or 100 bottles of beer per person for non-Muslim minorities such as Hindus, Christians, and Zoroastrians who can apply for permits.
A national referendum where 70% voted for repeal led to abolition in early 1932. Public opinion turned against the law there after large-scale smuggling and rising crime rates following four previous failed attempts due to opposition from the tsar.