Ryan Treffers, JD, is an expert in policy surveillance at all levels of government. Mr. Treffers training in collecting legal data sets began in 2006 while working on National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism’s Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) project. In addition to his ongoing work on APIS, he has also provided legal research for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking (STOP Act) since its inception in 2009. APIS focuses on legal data on state and federal alcohol policy and cannabis policy, and the STOP Act Report to Congress data analyses state-level legal data on underage alcohol policy.
Working with colleagues, Mr. Treffers has also produced and analyzed legal data, including policy ratings, on municipal alcohol and cannabis policies in California cities, alcohol and drug-use-during-pregnancy state laws, mixed-land-use-zoning laws at the municipal level, and effective dates data on many alcohol and cannabis topics.
Selected Projects
Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) Project
Analysis of Drugged Driving Investigations and Sanctions
Evaluation of a Change in a State’s BAC Per se Law to an Alternative of .08
STOP Project: Sober Truth on Preventing (STOP) Underage Drinking
Selected Publications
Roberts, S. C. M., Mericle, A. A., Subbaraman, M. S., Thomas, S., Treffers, R. D., Delucchi, K. L., & Kerr, W. C. (2019). State policies targeting alcohol use during pregnancy and alcohol use among pregnant women 1985-2016: Evidence from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. Women’s Health Issues, 29(3), 213-221. PMCID: PMC6597255. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.whi.2019.02.001
Rossheim, M. E., Thombs, D. L., & Treffers, R. D. (2018). High-alcohol-content flavored alcoholic beverages (supersized alcopops) should be reclassified to reduce public health hazard. American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse, 44(4), 413-417. https://doi.org/10.1080/00952990.2018.1460375
Mosher, J. F., Adler, S. S., Pamukcu, A. M., & Treffers, R. D. (2017). Review of state laws restricting local authority to impose alcohol taxes in the United States. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 78(2), 241-248. PMCID: PMC5554105. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2017.78.241
Mosher, J. F., & Treffers, R. D. (2013). State pre-emption, local control, and alcohol retail outlet density regulation. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 44(4), 399-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2012.11.029
Paschall, M., Grube, J. W., Thomas, S., Cannon, C., & Treffers, R. (2012). Relationships between local enforcement, alcohol availability, drinking norms, and adolescent alcohol use in 50 California cities. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 73(4), 657-665. PMCID: PMC3364331. https://doi.org/10.15288/jsad.2012.73.657
