Arizona was one of the earliest states to adopt Prohibition, going dry five years before the rest of the nation. Supporters believed alcohol fueled crime, poverty, and other social problems, but the ban often had the opposite effect. / General Photographic Agency, Getty Images A man destroying barrels of alcohol during Prohibition. / General Photographic Agency, Getty ImagesArizona Goes DryArizona's path to Prohibition began in 1914 when voters approved Proposition 203, making the state one of the first in the country to ban alcohol. Arizona's border with Mexico made alcohol smuggling a thriving business.