Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32707476›Full record

Trial reportThe International journal on drug policy2020

Sales to apparently alcohol-intoxicated customers and online responsible vendor training in recreational cannabis stores in a randomized trial.

David B Buller, W Gill Woodall, Robert Saltz, Andrew Grayson, Sierra Svendsen, Gary R Cutter

Open access · greenAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in The International journal on drug policy, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 46% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

David B BullerKlein Buendel, Inc., 1667 Cole Boulevard, Suite 225, Golden, CO 80401, USA. Electronic address: dbuller@kleinbuendel.com.
W Gill WoodallKlein Buendel, Inc., 1667 Cole Boulevard, Suite 225, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
Robert SaltzPrevention Research Center, 2150 Shattuck, Avenue, Suite 601, Berkeley, CA 94704, USA.
Andrew GraysonKlein Buendel, Inc., 1667 Cole Boulevard, Suite 225, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
Sierra SvendsenKlein Buendel, Inc., 1667 Cole Boulevard, Suite 225, Golden, CO 80401, USA.
Gary R CutterDepartment of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama, 403b Ryals Public Health Building 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, USA.
Klein Buendel (United States) · USUniversity of Alabama · US

Funding

Intervening to Prevent Youth Access to Marijuana Phase IIR44DA038933 · NIDA · KLEIN BUENDEL, INC. · PI BULLER, DAVID B · 2016 to 2017
$1.6M
Intervening to Prevent Youth Access to MarijuanaR43DA038933 · NIDA · KLEIN BUENDEL, INC. · PI BULLER, DAVID B · 2015 to 2015
$225k
NIDA NIH HHS R43 DA038933NIDA NIH HHS R44 DA038933
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn some U.S. states, laws prohibit sales of recreational marijuana to intoxicated customers to prevent associated harms. In alcohol markets, training in responsible sales practices is one intervention to help reduce such sales to intoxicated customers. Similar training may be beneficial in the recreational cannabis market.

methodsAn online responsible marijuana vendor (RMV) training was developed. Among its five modules, learning elements taught store personnel to recognize signs of alcohol impairment and intoxication, refuse sales, and understand the risks of driving under the influence of cannabis. A sample of n = 150 recreational cannabis stores in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington State, USA were enrolled in a randomized controlled trial, half of which were randomly assigned to use the RMV training. Stores were posttested using a pseudo-customer protocol in which confederate buyers feigned obvious signs of alcohol intoxication.

resultsDeterrence of sales to intoxicated customers does not seem to exist, regardless of whether the states' laws prohibit it. Only 16 of 146 stores (11.0%; 4 Oregon stores were eliminated that were not in business) refused sales. There was no difference in refusal rates between intervention (11.6% [3.9%]) and control stores (7.6% [3.1%], F = 0.71, p = 0.401 [1-tailed]) or between stores that used the RMV training (6.3% [4.0%]) or not (12.0% [5.7%], F = 0.91, p = 0.343 [2-tailed]). In 11 visits, store personnel commented on the buyers' behavior, or expressed concern/suspicion about buyers, but sold to them anyway.

conclusionsTraining in responsible sales practices alone did not appear to reduce sales to apparently alcohol-intoxicated customers. Legal deterrence from making these sales may be insufficient or nonexistent for store management to support adherence to this responsible sales practice. Regulatory and policy actions may be needed to increase perceived risk with such sales (i.e., clear policy and swift, severe, and certain penalties) to achieve training's benefits.

Indexed as

Alcoholic IntoxicationCannabisColoradoCommerceHumansOregonUnited StatesWashingtonAlcohol intoxicationCannabisCommerce

Identifiers

PMID32707476
PMCPMC7669561
OpenAlexW3044242157

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.