Campus group moves to ban drink specials

North Dakota bar owners may have to resort to new tactics to bring customers in, if a group gets their way during the upcoming legislative session.

The North Dakota College Consortium for Substance Abuse Prevention proposed legislation to ban certain drink specials, possibly including happy-hours and two-for-ones. Such a move would discourage binge drinking, supporters say.

"These specials are really pushing the binge drinking here," said Sandi Geddes, the substance abuse prevention specialist at UND and a member of the consortium. "Looking at the research, it's apparent that the states with no legislation on drink specials have higher rates of binge drinking."

The group is in "very preliminary stages" of meeting with state legislators to gauge their opinions on such a law, Geddes said. Group members proposed the idea at a symposium in Moorhead, Minn., last week.

The specific demands of any future legislation are unknown at this time. A major consideration in working toward such a policy is geography, Geddes said. UND and NDSU, by far the two largest schools in the state, are located near the Minnesota border.

"That's so important, because you have people that live in one state but maybe work in the other in both cities," Geddes said. "I would think that we'll work closely with people on the Minnesota side as well."

Bar owners at last week's symposium were skeptical that such a law would reduce the binge-drinking rates. Geddes said she has not spoken to Grand Forks' bar owners yet.

"They do a good job of promoting responsible use by being tough on checking IDs. But I don't know how they feel about a law like this. They have a business to run," she said, describing the proposal as one aimed to "stop people from consuming too much, not hurt the alcohol industry."

National phenomenon

Twenty-states and numerous communities currently have legislation that prohibits drink specials, although these regulations vary. Ten states ban free beverages during happy hour, 16 states enforce a limit of one drink at a time, 18 states ban happy hours or other times drink specials, and 23 states prohibit "unlimited beverages" for a fixed price.

A February 2005 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that alcohol consumption, intoxication and drinking and driving rates are related to the price of alcohol.

Such findings suggest that a reduction in encouragement to binge drink, as the drink specials are thought to do, would limit problems with alcohol.

"This is happening in many other states," Geddes said. "We're trying to help people be more responsible users of alcohol."