Bureau of Prohibition

Summary

The Bureau of Prohibition was the United States federal law enforcement agency with the responsibility of investigating the possession, distribution, consumption, and trafficking of alcohol and alcoholic beverages in the United States of America during the Prohibition era. The enumerated enforcement powers of this organization were vested in the Volstead Act. Federal prohibition agents of the Bureau were commonly referred to by members of the public and the press of the day as "prohis," or "dry agents." In the sparsely populated areas of the American west, agents were sometimes called "Prohibition Cowboys." At its peak, the bureau employed 2,300 dry agents.