Alcohol outlets, drug paraphernalia sales, and neighborhood drug overdose

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Int J Drug Policy
• Personal Author:
  Nesoff, Elizabeth D. ; Milam, Adam J. ; Morrison, Christopher ; Weir, Brian W. ; Branas, Charles C. ; Furr-Holden, C. Debra M. ; Knowlton, Amy R. ; Martins, Silvia S.
• Description:
  BACKGROUND:
  
  Alcohol outlets have been associated with various forms of injury and may contribute to neighborhood disparities in drug overdose. Few studies have examined the associations between alcohol outlets and drug overdose. This study investigated whether alcohol outlets were associated with the neighborhood drug overdose rate and whether the sale of drug paraphernalia contributes to this association.
  
  METHODS:
  
  A cross-sectional ecological spatial analysis was conducted within census block groups in Baltimore City (n=653). Outcomes were counts of EMS calls for any drug overdose in 2015 (n=3,856). Exposures of interest were counts of alcohol outlets licensed for off-premise and on-premise consumption and the proportion of off-premise outlets selling drug paraphernalia (e.g., blunt wrappers, baggies, pipes). Negative binomial regression was used to assess the relationship between outlet count and overdose rate, and if paraphernalia sales altered this relationship, controlling for other neighborhood factors. Spatial autocorrelation was assessed and regression inference adjusted accordingly.
  
  RESULTS:
  
  Each additional off-premise alcohol outlet was associated with a 16.6% increase in the neighborhood overdose rate (IRR=1.17, 95%CI=(1.11, 1.23)), adjusted for other neighborhood variables. On-premise alcohol outlets were not significantly associated with overdose rate when adjusting for off-premise alcohol outlets (IRR=1.01, 95% CI=(0.97, 1.06)). The proportion of off-premise outlets that sold drug paraphernalia was negatively associated with overdose rate (IRR=0.55, 95% CI=(0.41, 0.74)) and did not alter the relationship between off-premise outlets and overdose.
  
  CONCLUSION:
  
  This study provides preliminary public health evidence for informing policy decisions about alcohol outlet licensing and zoning. Alcohol outlets could be potential community partners for harm reduction strategies such as health communication in identifying overdose symptoms or Good Samaritan Laws.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Alcohol Drinking Alcoholic Beverages Alcohol Outlets Article Cross-Sectional Studies Drug Overdose Humans Neighborhoods Paraphernalia Pharmaceutical Preparations
• Source:
  Int J Drug Policy. 95:103289
• Pubmed ID:
  33984684
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC8530831
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  R01CE002682/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; R49 CE003094/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R01 CE002682/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; U49 CE000728/CE/NCIPC CDC HHSUnited States/ ; R34 DA034314/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; U54 MD011227/MD/NIMHD NIH HHSUnited States/ ; R49CE003094/ACL/ACL HHSUnited States/ ; T32 DA031099/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/ ; K01 DA049900/DA/NIDA NIH HHSUnited States/
• Volume:
  95
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:f1e51343a9d37854de45f0b527e05e9bb4b24014237bd312932de9509302c1eb
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/110944/cdc_110944_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 634.67 KB ]