Refusal of Pseudo-Intoxicated Customers By Retail Marijuana Outlets in Three U.S. States

Recreational marijuana is sold by state-licensed stores in seven U.S. states. Like alcohol, sales are prohibited to persons younger than age 21 and sometimes to persons who are apparently intoxicated. This study tested whether personnel in recreational marijuana stores would refuse sales to buyers who appear to be intoxicated. A sample of 150 licensed retail stores in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington was selected from state regulatory agency lists. A majority of stores (67.1%) sold recreational and medical marijuana (32.9% sold recreational only). The sample was stratified between the largest metropolitan area in each state (n=21 stores in Denver; 20 in Portland; 25 in Seattle) and nearby regions with smaller cities (n=29 stores in Colorado; 26 in Oregon; 25 in Washington). Pseudo-patron assessment teams comprised a buyer and an observer that visited each store once from August to October 2018. Buyers attempted to enter the premises while enacting obvious signs of intoxication (e.g., slurred speech, stumbling, dropped change/I.D., etc.) and attempting to purchase a low-cost cannabis product (i.e., pre-rolled joint). Observers recorded whether buyers gained entry and if the clerk offered to sell marijuana (no actual purchases were made).

In each assessment, refusal was measured at three levels: 1) at entry to the store, 2) while on the sales floor, and 3) while attempting to purchase. Refusals were rare. Buyers were refused at entry at 6.2% of stores (n=9), at entry or on the sales floor at 8.9% (n=13), and at entry, on the floor, or at the purchase attempt at 11.0% (n=16). Refusal rates were slightly higher in Colorado and Oregon than in Washington State. A state law that explicitly prohibited sales in Oregon may have slightly decreased sales there, while refusals in Colorado may be attributed to the wide scale use of security guards checking IDs at entrance. By contrast, recreational marijuana stores may be far more vigilant for sales to minors than to intoxicated customers, with previous pseudo-underage assessments showing high refusal rates (>70%) in many of these same stores. These high rates of sale to apparently intoxicated customers is cause for concern, especially in light of research indicating that the combination of alcohol and marijuana intoxication appears to severely impair driver performance.