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Month: June 2025

Proximity of Alcohol Establishments and Sales of Cannabis to Intoxicated Customers

Proximity of Alcohol Establishments and Sales of Cannabis to Intoxicated Customers

A multi-disciplinary research team led by Klein Buendel presented data from an active polysubstance (alcohol and cannabis) project at the 48th Annual Research Society on Alcohol Scientific Meeting on June 21-25, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dr. David Buller presenting poster

State laws prohibiting sales of alcohol to apparently intoxicated customers are intended to prevent morbidity/mortality from impaired driving, impulsive behaviors, injuries, and violence. A few states (including Oregon) have similar prohibitions for recreational cannabis sales. Compliance with state prohibitions against sales to intoxicated customers by co-located alcohol and cannabis sales establishments was examined in two metropolitan areas in Oregon.

In 2024, actors trained to feign alcohol intoxication visited state-licensed recreational cannabis stores in four counties containing Portland and Salem metropolitan areas and attempted to purchase a low-cost cannabis product while displaying alcohol intoxication. These same actors assessed sales of alcohol products at licensed on-site and off-site alcohol premises located near cannabis stores, using the pseudo-patron protocol. Concordance in refusals (1=both establishments refused vs. 0=else) and concordance in sales (1=both sold vs. 0=else) and point-to-point distances (in kilometers) between alcohol premises and each cannabis store were calculated.

Pseudo-patron teams consisting of a buyer feigning intoxication and an observer assessed 173 cannabis stores and 39 alcohol premises, resulting in 6,747 pairs of establishments. Logistic regression revealed that concordance in refusals (regulatory compliance) was higher in pairs of establishments that were located closer together rather than farther apart. Concordance in sales (regulatory non-compliance) was higher in pairs of establishments that were farther apart rather than closer together, even when examining pairs within the same city and county.

Neighborhood influences on alcohol and cannabis use may arise from the consistency of responsible sales behavior of co-located retailers. When both alcohol and cannabis establishments fail to refuse sales to intoxicated customers, use of alcohol and cannabis and accompanying harms may increase, especially from co-use which can result in high impairment. Community norms associated with, for example, social class or presence of children or regulators’ enforcement efforts may determine similarity in compliance. Responsible vendor training requirements or additional enforcement efforts might reduce co-location effects (neighborhood differences). The small number of alcohol premises and single state somewhat limited the study.

This research is supported by a grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (AA031591; Dr. W. Gill Woodall and Dr. David Buller, Multiple Principal Investigators). Additional collaborating authors include Dr. Robert Saltz from the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation; Dr. James Fell from the National Opinion Research Center; Dr. Ian Buller from DLH Corporation, Inc.; Dr. Gary Cutter from the University of Alabama; and Ms. Lila Martinez, Mr. Noah Chirico, and Ms. Amanda Brice from Klein Buendel.

Collaborator Spotlight: Dr. Christopher Houck

Collaborator Spotlight: Dr. Christopher Houck

Christopher Houck, Ph.D., collaborates with Klein Buendel investigators and its Creative Team on multiple behavioral research projects. His research interests focus on affect management for early adolescents and the development and evaluation of risk prevention interventions for at-risk early adolescents. He conducts research on factors related to adolescent risk behaviors, especially sexual behaviors and dating violence risk, and the role of emotion regulation in health behavior interventions.  

Dr. Houck is a Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and a Professor of Pediatrics at Brown University. He is the Director of the Clinical Child Psychology Specialty Program for postdoctoral training in the Brown Clinical Psychology Training Consortium’s Postdoctoral Fellowship Training Program. He also works as a staff psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital. It is in this capacity at Rhode Island Hospital that Dr. Houck is currently leading two research projects in conjunction with Klein Buendel that are funded by the National Institutes of Health:  

An Interactive Education Program to Reduce High Risk Behavior in Adolescents (HD110333) 

Klein Buendel Investigator, Ms. Julia Berteletti, is collaborating with Dr. Houck to develop and evaluate the impact of an emotion regulation program for adolescents. iTRAC is a web-based program for “Talking about Risk and Adolescent Choices” to prevent risky sexual behavior and negative sexual health outcomes through emotion regulation strategies. 

Emotion Regulation Intervention to Prevent Substance Use Among Youth in the Child Welfare System (DA059785) 

Klein Buendel Investigators, Ms. Julia Berteletti and Dr. W. Gill Woodall, are collaborating with Dr. Houck and Dr. Stephanie Parade from Brown University on this 5-year project to integrate substance use content with iTRAC emotion regulation material to reduce substance use among child welfare involved youth. The web-based intervention is being developed and evaluated in partnership with the Rhode Island Department of Children, Youth, and Families. 

Dr. Houck earned his B.A. degree from the University of Michigan in 1996. He completed his Ph.D. in Clinical and Health Psychology from the University of Florida in 2002. He completed his internship at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County in Orange, California and a postdoctoral fellowship at Brown University.