Alcohol Outlets and Problems in Baltimore: What the Data Say, What the Data Can’t Say, and Where Do We Go from Here? Debra Furr-Holden, PhD

C. Debra Furr-Holden, PhD Assistant Professor and Director Drug Investigations, Violence & Environmental (DIVE) Studies Laboratory JHU Bloomberg School of Public Health Department of Mental Health 111 Market Place Baltimore, MD Suite 850

Alcohol Systems in Baltimore Establishments 1.Zoning 2.Board of Liquor License Commissioners 3.Article 2B of the Maryland State Annotated Code

Alcohol Systems in Baltimore Enforcement 1.Board of Liquor License Commissioners 2.BCPD 3.Maryland State Police 4.Maryland Sherriff's Office

Alcohol Systems in Baltimore Treatment  Mental Health/Drug Treatment Federal provisions Maryland State ADAA regulation Local (BSAS) coordination Community Treatment Providers

How We Use Data to Impact Policy/Enforcement 2 Examples from the Field

Alcohol Zoning Enforcement Process evaluation for the Board of Liquor License Commissioners for Baltimore City Review of State Article 2b which states no alcohol outlet can be within 300 feet of church or a school Queried alcohol outlet database Acquired school data from BC MOIT Triangulated school, outlet, local data (crime and violence), youth self-report data

Data is a MAJOR issue 1.Most data was not available in electronic form Location, type, owner information Write over files, versus append data to files 2.Paper records for violations and transfers 3.Antiquated filing system 4.Under performing/unfriendly staff 5.Practices (not policies) that limit access

Liquor Outlets in Baltimore City

Liquor Outlets and Drug Hot Spots

Liquor Outlets & K-12 Schools

Liquor Outlets, K-12 Schools, & Drug Hot Spots

Targeting a Selected Area

A Closer Look

How did this happen??? A simple oversight with no oversight Does it really matter? Is there any real harm?

Alcohol Policy & Zoning Enforcement Alcohol Outlets Physical and Social Disorder Youth Exposure to VAOD Violent Behavior Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Conceptual Model

Multi-Variable Analysis Results among High School Youth 9 th -12 th grade youth who attend schools that have at least one alcohol outlet within 300 feet of their school are 4.5 times more likely to use drugs (OR 4.5; p=0.02) 5 times more likely to report feeling unsafe on the walk to school (OR 5.3; p=0.03) 8 times more likely to have witnessed a violent assault (OR 7.9, p=0.01)

Multi-Variable Analysis Results among 3 rd -5 th grade Youth 3 rd -5 th grade youth who go to schools that have at least one alcohol outlet within 300 feet of their school are 4 times more likely to walk to school (OR 4.3; p=0.04) (partly related to economics) Almost 7 times more likely to report feeling unsafe on the walk to school (OR 6.8; p=0.03) 4 times more likely to be depressed (OR 4.2; p=0.02) 5 times more likely to report seeing people using drugs or getting drunk in their neighborhood (OR 5.2, p=0.01)

Outcomes to date Presented data to Liquor Commissioners and City Council Enforcement strategy in place 5 outlets closed so far as a direct result of this work Revision to the 300 foot rule – specification and possible expansion Unexpected  Now alcohol outlets are on the radar  BD7 and Bottle Club laws  8 other outlets closed secondarily

Recent Alcohol Policy Work in Baltimore AlcoPops Bill Passed in 2009 Proposed revision to the 300 foot rule – specification and possible expansion BD7 Laws Bottle Club Laws Billboard Laws – unenforced but on the radar 13 alcohol bills in the State House in the 2010 session

THE DRINKING ENVIRONMENT AROUND THE HOMEWOOD CAMPUS: MAKING A CASE FOR MANAGING DENSITY

Baltimore City has 277 ecologically defined neighborhoods; 242 are residential

There are 1,277 licensed alcohol outlets in Baltimore City

The Homewood Campus is just north of Central Baltimore City

Put into Perspective….. There are 97 alcohol outlets within the 1-mile buffer around the Homewood Campus There are 41 alcohol outlets within the 1-mile buffer around the worse block in East Baltimore There are 33 alcohol outlets within the 1-mile buffer around the worse block in West Baltimore There are 25 alcohol outlets within the 1-mile buffer around Martin O’Malley’s former residence

Information on the 97 Licensed Alcohol Outlets around the Homewood Campus Among these 97 licensed alcohol outlets: One-third (30) sell packaged goods exclusively The other two-thirds (67) sell alcohol on premises Two-thirds (64) sell alcohol 7 days per week –Between Thanksgiving and New Year’s 95 of the 97 outlets sell alcohol 7 days a week

Calls for Service for ‘Intoxicated Person’ by Month in 2008 within 1-mile of the Homewood Campus

Potential Environmental Strategies  Decrease the number of alcohol outlets in the surrounding area Quote from Scribner et al (2009) Given the limited number of modifiable factors that affect college drinking, on- premise outlet density represents a potential modifiable means of addressing the problem. Article 2b of the Maryland State Law has provisions for the distance alcohol outlets can be from a church or a school, perhaps similar legislation is needed to protect college students.  Enforcement

Discussion Data People Enforcement