How local alcohol and marijuana rules and retail access affect teens and young adults
Official title: Local Alcohol and Marijuana Policies, Retail Availability, and Co-Use During Adolescence and Early Adulthood
Funded at Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation · NIH-11243501 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how local alcohol and marijuana laws and store availability are linked to using alcohol, marijuana, or both among teenagers and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Beltsville, United States) |
| Project start | September 29, 1983 |
| Project end | November 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $252,705 |
| NIH project number | 5P60AA006282-44 |
| Project ID | NIH-11243501 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are adolescents and young adults (roughly ages 12–21) living in communities with different local alcohol and marijuana policies.
✕Less likely to help
People outside the adolescent and young adult age range or those living in areas without variation in local alcohol or marijuana rules are less likely to directly benefit from participating.
What this research studies
You and other young people from different communities would provide information about alcohol and marijuana use while researchers map local laws and nearby stores. They will compare places with different rules and enforcement to see how those settings relate to single substance use and using both substances together. The team uses surveys, local policy reviews, and records about retail availability, and may follow youth over time to see changes. This helps show how community rules, store access, and enforcement shape opportunities and risks for young people.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could help communities shape local policies to reduce youth alcohol and marijuana co-use and related harms.
How similar studies have gone: Previous research has linked state-level alcohol and marijuana policies to use, but combining local policy, retail availability, and youth co-use over time is less common and partly novel.
Where this research is happening
-
Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation
Beltsville, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Paschall, Mallie J — Pacific Institute for Res and Evaluation
- Study coordinator: Paschall, Mallie J
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.