Substance Abuse Research

The U of M School of Public Health has broad research expertise in alcohol, tobacco, and opioids. Our faculty have conducted research focused on the public-health effects of substance abuse; policies, policy regulation, and implementation; underage use; and programs focused on prevention and treatment. This expertise will guide work at the Cannabis Research Center (CRC).

Below we highlight some of the relevant alcohol, tobacco, and opioid publications and research studies conducted at SPH.

Alcohol Publications and Studies

Publications

For a full list of alcohol-related publications, see: The Alcohol Epidemiology Program

Lenk KM, Erickson DJ, Joshi S, Calvert C, Nelson TF, Toomey TL. An examination of how alcohol enforcement strategies by sheriff and police agencies are associated with alcohol-impaired-driving fatal traffic crashes. Traffic Injury Prevention, 22(6):419-424, 2021.

McKee P, Erickson DJ, Toomey T, Nelson T, Less EL, Joshi S, Jones-Webb R. The impact of single-container malt liquor sales restrictions on urban crime. Journal of Urban Health, 94(2):289-300, 2017.

Jones-Webb R, McKee P, Joshi S, Erickson DJ, Toomey TL, Nelson TF. Is restricting sales of malt liquor beverages effective in reducing crime in urban areas? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 79(6):826-834, 2018.

Erickson DJ, Lenk KM, Toomey TL, Nelson TF, Jones-Webb R, Mosher JF. Measuring the strength of state-level alcohol control policies.  Word Medical and Health Policy, 6(3):171-186, 2014.

Erickson DJ, Lenk KM, Toomey TL, Nelson TF, Jones-Webb R. The state-level policy environment, enforcement, and alcohol use in the United States. Drug and Alcohol Review. 35:6-12, 2016.

Toomey TL, Lenk KM, Nederhoff DM, Nelson TF, Ecklund AM, Horvath KJ, Erickson DJ. Can obviously intoxicated patrons still easily buy alcohol at on-premise establishments? Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 40(3):616-622, 2016.

Toomey TL, Lenk KM, Erickson DJ, Horvath KJ, Ecklund AM, Nederhoff DM, Hunt SL, Nelson TF. Effects of a hybrid online and in-person-training program designed to reduce alcohol sales to obviously intoxicated patrons. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78(2):268-275, 2017.

Toomey TL, Erickson DJ, Carlin BP, Quick HS, Harwood EM, Lenk KM, Ecklund AM. Is the density of alcohol establishments related to nonviolent crime? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73(1):21-25, 2012.

Toomey TL, Erickson DJ, Carlin BP, Lenk KM, Quick HS, Jones A. Harwood EM. The association between density of alcohol establishments and violent crime within urban neighborhoods. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. 36(8):1468-1473, 2012.

Jones-Webb R, Nelson T, McKee P, Toomey T. An implementation model to increase the effectiveness of alcohol control policies. American Journal of Health Promotion, 28(5):328-35, 2014.

Wagenaar AC, Toomey TL, Erickson DJ. Preventing youth access to alcohol: outcomes from a multi-community time-series trial. Addiction, 100(3):335-45, 2005.

Calvert CM, Burgess D, Erickson D, Widome R, Jones-Webb R. Cancer pain and alcohol self-medication. J Cancer Surviv. 2022 May 14. doi: 10.1007/s11764-022-01215-x.

Jones-Webb R, Karriker-Jaffe KJ, Zemore SE, Mulia N. Effects of economic disruptions on alcohol use and problems: Why do African Americans fare worse? Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. 2016 Mar;77(2):261-71.(SPH story)

Karriker-Jaffe K, Zemore S, Mulia N, Jones-Webb R, Bond J, Greenfield T. Neighborhood disadvantage and adult alcohol outcomes: Differential risk by race and gender. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73(6):865-873, 2012.

Zemore SE, Mulia N, Jones-Webb R, Liu H, Schmidt L. The 2008-9 recession and alcohol outcomes: Differential exposure and vulnerability for black and Latino populations. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 74(1):9-20. 2013.

Studies

For a full list of alcohol-related projects, see: The Alcohol Epidemiology Program

State and Local Alcohol Policies: The Case of Malt Liquor

Principal Investigator: Rhonda Jones-Webb, DrPH
Co-Investigators: Traci Toomey, PhD; Darin Erickson, PhD; Toben Nelson, ScD
Funding Agency:  National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Evaluation of a Hybrid In-person and Online Alcohol Service Training Program

Principal Investigator: Traci Toomey, PhD
Co-Investigators: Darin Erickson, PhD; Keith Horvath, PhD; Toben Nelson, ScD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Assessing Density of Alcohol Outlets, Other Outlets and Crime

Principal Investigator: Traci L. Toomey, PhD
Co-Investigators: Bradley Carlin, PhD; Darin Erickson, PhD; Eileen Harwood, PhD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

The Effects of Changes in Local Alcohol Policies and Enforcement on Alcohol Use and Impaired Driving

Principal Investigator: Toben Nelson, ScD
Co-Investigators: Darin Erickson, PhD; Rhonda Jones-Webb, PhD; Traci Toomey, PhD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Evaluation of a Place of Last Drink Initiative to Reduce Overservice and Alcohol-Related Crime

Principal Investigator: Traci Toomey, PhD
Co-Investigators: Rich MacLehose, PhD; Rhonda Jones-Webb, PhD; Toben Nelson, ScD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Assessing How Local-Level Law Enforcement Strategies, Both Specific and in the Aggregate, Influence Binge Drinking and Alcohol-Impaired Driving in Communities Across the U.S.

Principal Investigator: Traci Toomey, PhD
Co-Investigators: Darin Erickson, PhD; Toben Nelson, ScD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

A Comprehensive Analysis of State Alcohol Policy Environment and Its Effects

Principal Investigator: Darin Erickson, PhD
Co-Investigators: Traci Toomey, PhD; Toben Nelson, ScD; Rhonda Jones-Webb, DrPH
Funding Agency: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Tobacco Publications and Studies

Publications

Mayne SL, Jacobs DR Jr, Schreiner PJ, Widome R, Gordon-Larsen P, Kershaw KN. Associations of smoke-free policies in restaurants, bars, and workplaces with blood pressure changes in the CARDIA Study. J Am Heart Assoc. 2018 Dec 4;7(23):e009829.

Mayne SL, Auchincloss AH, Tabb LP, Stehr M, Shikany JM, Schreiner PJ, Widome R, Gordon-Larsen P. Associations of bar and restaurant smoking bans with smoking behavior in the CARDIA study: A 25-year study. Am J Epidemiol. 2018 Jun 1;187(6):1250-1258.

Mayne SL, Widome R, Carroll AJ, Schreiner PJ, Gordon-Larsen P, Jacobs DR Jr, Kershaw KN. Longitudinal associations of smoke-free policies and incident cardiovascular disease: CARDIA Study. Circulation. 2018 Aug 7;138(6):557-566.

Bustamante G, Ma B, Yakovlev G, Yershova K, Le C, Jensen J, Hatsukami DK,  Stepanov, I. Presence of the carcinogen N′-Nitrosonornicotine in saliva of e-cigarette users. Chemical Research in Toxicology. 2018;31(8):731-8.  (SPH story)

Jain V, Alcheva A, Huang D, Caruso R, Jain A, Lay M, O’Connor R, Stepanov I. Comprehensive chemical characterization of Natural American Spirit cigarettes. Tob Regul Sci. 2019 Jul;5(4):381-399 . (SPH story)

Joehanes R, Just AC, Marioni RE, Pilling LC, Reynolds LM, Mandaviya PR, Guan W, Xu T, Elks CE, Aslibekyan S, Moreno-Macias H, Smith JA, Brody JA, Dhingra R, Yousefi P, Pankow JS, Kunze S, Shah SH, McRae AF, Lohman K, Sha J, Absher DM, Ferrucci L, Zhao W, Demerath EW, et al., Epigenetic signatures of cigarette smoking. Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2016 Oct;9(5):436-447. (SPH story)

Tarran R, Barr RG, Benowitz NL, Bhatnagar A, Chu HW, Dalton P, Doerschuk CM, Drummond MB, Gold DR, Goniewicz ML, Gross ER, Hansel NN, Hopke PK, Kloner RA, Mikheev VB, Neczypor EW, Pinkerton KE, Postow L, Rahman I, Samet JM, Salathe M, Stoney CM, Tsao PS, Widome R, Xia T, Xiao D, Wold LE. E-Cigarettes and cardiopulmonary health. Function (Oxf). 2021 Feb 8;2(2):zqab004.

Carroll AJ Ms, Auer R, Colangelo LA, Carnethon MR, Jacobs DR Jr, Stewart JC, Widome R, Carr JJ, Liu K, Hitsman B. Association of the interaction between smoking and depressive symptom clusters with coronary artery calcification: The CARDIA Study. J Dual Diagn. 2017 Jan-Mar;13(1):43-51.

Carroll AJ, Carnethon MR, Liu K, Jacobs DR, Colangelo LA, Stewart JC, Carr JJ, Widome R, Auer R, Hitsman B. Interaction between smoking and depressive symptoms with subclinical heart disease in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. Health Psychol. 2017 Feb;36(2):101-111.

Hu T, Gall SL, Widome R, Bazzano LA, Burns TL, Daniels SR, Dwyer T, Ikonen J, Juonala M, Kähönen M, Prineas RJ, Raitakari O, Sinaiko AR, Steinberger J, Urbina EM, Venn A, Viikari J, Woo JG, Jacobs DR Jr. Childhood/adolescent smoking and adult smoking and cessation: The International Childhood Cardiovascular Cohort (i3C) Consortium. J Am Heart Assoc. 2020 Apr 7;9(7):e014381. doi: 10.1161/JAHA.119.014381.

Hammett PJ, Taylor BC, Lando HA, Widome R, Erickson DJ, Fu SS. Serious mental illness and smoking cessation treatment utilization: The role of healthcare providers. J Behav Health Serv Res. 2021 Jan;48(1):63-76.

Mayne SL, Gordon-Larsen P, Schreiner PJ, Widome R, Jacobs DR, Kershaw KN. Longitudinal associations of cigarette prices with smoking cessation: The coronary artery risk development in young adults study. Nicotine Tob Res. 2019 Apr 17;21(5):678-685.

Hammett P, Fu SS, Nelson D, Clothier B, Saul JE, Widome R, Danan ER, Burgess DJ. A Proactive smoking cessation intervention for socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers: The role of smoking-related stigma. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018 Feb 7;20(3):286-294.

Hammett PJ, Fu SS, Burgess DJ, Nelson D, Clothier B, Saul JE, Nyman JA, Widome R, Joseph AM. Treatment barriers among younger and older socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers. Am J Manag Care. 2017 Sep 1;23.

Hammett PJ, Lando HA, Taylor BC, Widome R, Erickson DJ, Joseph AM, Clothier B, Fu SS. The relationship between smoking cessation and binge drinking, depression, and anxiety symptoms among smokers with serious mental illness. Drug Alcohol Depend. 2019 Jan 1;194:128-135. doi: 10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2018.08.043.

Berry KM, Drew JAR, Brady PJ, Widome R. Impact of smoking cessation on household food security. Annals of Epidemiology. 2023 Mar;79:49-55.e3.

Roland KM, Anderson MD, Carroll DM, Webber AG, Rhodes KL, Poupart J, Forster JL, Peterson-Hickey M, Pickner WJ. Tribal Tobacco Use Project II: Planning, implementation, and dissemination using culturally relevant data collection among American Indian communities. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jun 23;19(13):7708.

Breland AB, Carroll D, Denlinger-Apte R, Ross JC, Soto C, White C, et al. Centering racial justice for Black/African American and Indigenous American people in commercial tobacco product regulation. Preventive Medicine. 2022;165:107117.

Pinsker EA, Hennrikus DJ, Erickson DJ, Call KT, Forster JL, Okuyemi KS. Trends in self-efficacy to quit and smoking urges among homeless smokers participating in a smoking cessation RCT. Addict Behav. 2018 Mar;78:43-50

Carlson S, Widome R, Fabian L, Luo X, Forster J. Barriers to quitting smoking among young adults: The role of socioeconomic status. Am J Health Promot. 2018 Feb;32(2):294-300.

Hammett PJ, Lando HA, Erickson DJ, Widome R, Taylor BC, Nelson D, Japuntich SJ, Fu SS. Proactive outreach tobacco treatment for socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers with serious mental illness. J Behav Med. 2020 Jun;43(3):493-502.

Hammett P, Fu SS, Nelson D, Clothier B, Saul JE, Widome R, Danan ER, Burgess DJ. A Proactive smoking cessation intervention for socioeconomically disadvantaged smokers: The Role of smoking-related stigma. Nicotine Tob Res. 2018 Feb 7;20(3):286-294.

Widome R, Hammett PJ, Joseph AM, Burgess DJ, Thomas JL, Saul JE, Clothier B, Fu SS. A cross-sectional study of the relationship of proximal smoking environments and cessation history, plans, and self-efficacy among low-income smokers. J Smok Cessat. 2019 Dec;14(4):229-238.

Danan ER, Fu SS, Clothier BA, Noorbaloochi S, Hammett PJ, Widome R, Burgess DJ. The Equity impact of proactive outreach to smokers: Analysis of a randomized trial. Am J Prev Med. 2018 Oct;55(4):506-516. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2018.05.023.

Studies

Laying the Foundation for Personalized Smoking Cessation Treatment in the American Indian Population

Principal Investigator: Dana Carroll, PhD
Funding Agency: National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities

Development and Pilot Testing of a Culturally-Tailored Smartphone-Delivered Intervention for Commercial Smoking Cessation in American Indians

Principal Investigator: Dana Caroll, PhD
Co-Investigator: Rachel Widome, PhD
Funding Agency:  NIH/NCI

Impacts of Commercial Tobacco Marketing on American Indian Reservations

Principal Investigators: Rachel Widome; Kristine Rhodes
Funding Agency: Clearway Minnesota

Menthol Tobacco Sales Restrictions and Smoking Disparities

Principal Investigator: Rachel Widome, PhD
Co-Investigator: Darin Erickson, PhD
Funding Agency: NIH/NCI

Impact of Smokefree Policy Implementation in Public Housing Buildings

Principal Investigators: Rachel Widome, PhD; Deborah Hennrikus
Funding Agency: Clearway Minnesota

Menthol Tobacco Sales Restrictions and Smoking Disparities

Principal Investigator: Rachel Widome, PhD
Co-Investigator: Darin Erickson, PhD
Funding Agency: National Cancer Institute

Opioids Publications and Studies

Publications

Neprash HT, Barnett ML. Association of primary care clinic appointment time with opioid prescribing. JAMA Netw Open. 2019 Aug 2;2(8):e1910373. (SPH story)

Wright N, Ramirez MR. A cross sectional study of non-medical use of prescription opioids and suicidal behaviors among adolescents. Inj. Epidemiol. 8, 36 (2021).

Wright N, Ramirez MR, Southwell B, Hemmila M, Napolitano L, Tignanelli CJ. A serial cross-sectional study of trends and predictors of prescription controlled substance-related traumatic injury. Prev Med. 2022 Nov;164:107275.

Kozhimannil KB, Chantarat T, Ecklund AM, Henning-Smith C, Jones C. Maternal opioid use disorder and neonatal abstinence syndrome among rural US residents, 2007-2014. J Rural Health. 2019 Jan;35(1):122-132.  Erratum in: J Rural Health. 2020 Jan;36(1):137.  (SPH story)

Studies

Unintended Prolonged Opioid Use

Principal Investigator: W. Michael Hooten, MD (Mayo Clinic)
Sub-contract: Darin Erickson, PhD
Funding Agency: NIH: National Center for Advancing Translational Science Institute

Spinal Manipulation and Patient Self-Management for Preventing Acute to Chronic Back Pain Trial (PACBACK)

Principal Investigator: Gert Bronfort
Co-Investigator: John Connett, PhD
Funding Agency: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (SPH story)

Is the Drug Overdose Epidemic a White Problem? Perceptions and Attitudes of Treatment for Opioid Dependence in the African American Community

Principal Investigator: Kumi Smith
Funding agency: University of Minnesota, Health Equity Work Group Pilot Award

Standardized Patients to Evaluate Treatment Access for Opioid Use Disorder

Co-Principal Investigators: Kumi Smith; Robert Levy
Funding Agency: University of Minnesota, Office of Vice President of Research

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