the prohibition laws had many loopholes (ways to get around the law) that were quickly taken advantage of. the biggest loophole was that neither the eighteenth amendment nor the volstead act made it illegal to drink or be drunk in public. farmers who grew fruit quickly learned to sell their harvests in dehydrated bricks. the warning label included instructions on how to easily turn the bricks into alcoholic drinks. pharmacists were allowed to prescribe whiskey for any number of ailments from anxiety to the flu. as bootleggers learned of this, the number of pharmacies tripled in places like new york state. tools and ingredients to make alcohol at home were sold in hardware and grocery stores. books on how to make liquor were also legal.