Las Cruces, NM Public Conduct: Public Alcohol Use (2026)

Sec. 14 of the Las Cruces Code of Ordinances sets three separate prohibitions tied to alcohol and motor vehicles. Subsection A bars knowingly drinking any alcoholic beverage while in a motor vehicle on any city street. Subsection B separately bars simply possessing an open container, meaning one whose seal has been broken or contents partially removed, on your person while in the vehicle, regardless of whether you are drinking from it. Subsection C extends liability to the registered owner of the vehicle, making it unlawful to knowingly keep an open container anywhere in the car unless it is stored in the trunk, in an area not normally occupied by driver or passengers if there is no trunk, in the living quarters of a motorhome or recreational vehicle, in a truck camper, or in the bed of a pickup truck that is occupied by passengers; a glove compartment or other utility compartment within the passenger area does not qualify for the exception.

Subsection D exempts three groups from the entire section: a person carrying alcohol for medical purposes on a doctor's recommendation, a clergyman or agent carrying alcohol for religious purposes, and an employee of a business licensed under the Alcoholic Beverage Control Act while performing job duties, tracking the state exception at NMSA 1978, § 66-8-138. Because Sec. 14 is not listed on the city's flat-fee Penalty Assessment schedule at Sec. 27-12-14-4, a citation is not resolved with an on-the-spot ticket; it is prosecuted in Las Cruces Municipal Court under the Code's general penalty at Sec.

00, up to 90 days in jail, or both. The ordinance applies only to alcohol in a vehicle; it does not reach drinking on a sidewalk, in a park or on foot elsewhere in the public right-of-way.