As described by an encyclopedia in 1907, local option is the "license granted to the inhabitants of a district to extinguish or reduce the sale of intoxicants in their midst."
A 1911 Encyclopædia describes it as "specifically used in politics of the power given to the electorate of a particular district to choose whether licences for the sale of intoxicating liquor should be granted or not."
The Anti-Saloon League initially decided to use local option as the mechanism to bring about nationwide prohibition.
For instance, several wards in Ontario, Canada, passed local option but were vehemently against province-wide prohibition since they preferred to isolate alcohol sales, rather than ban them altogether.
That is particularly evident in Toronto's Junction neighbourhood, part of which remained notoriously dry as late as 2000, the last area of Ontario to repeal prohibition.