Upriver from St. Mary’s, the village of Emmonak has been dry since 1991. The community is 120 miles northwest of Bethel near the mouth of the Yukon River, and the people there travel in and out of Bethel frequently.
"local option"
Bethel City Council nixes local option vote in October
Bethel left local option in 2009 and citizens voted again in 2010 to stay out while still rejecting local sales. That triggered a liquor status that allows for unlimited importations and no local sales.
Bethel Native Corporation subsidiary seeks to open Bethel liquor store
Bethel could see its first liquor store in four decades if the Bethel Native Corporation goes ahead with plans to open a package store and it clears regulatory hurdles.
Some communities investigating local option to ban marijuana
The road to a legal and regulated marijuana market is months away, and communities who still want to keep the divisive drug out are looking at doing so the same way many currently ban alcohol: the local option.