[xkcd-sucks]

That must have been exaggeration to ward off clever ideas unless it's in like Utah or something -- At my grad school in a fairly puritanical state, USP grade ethanol was just on the shelf in the supply room with no more security or record keeping than on bags of pipet tips. And yes, some people did learn that undiluted pure EtOH dehydrates mucous membranes most painfully

[sidewndr46]

In Alabama you can only legally get alcohol from a state designated entity. This was at a state university, so they had a state license just like a store would. Along with that came all the regulations.