The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC) will expand its Minor Decoy Operations (MDO), to ensure that OLCC licensees are not selling alcohol and cannabis products to individuals under the age of 21.
The stepped-up effort will also include MDO activity for alcohol home delivery.
“Our licensees need to comply with the laws and rules pertaining to mixing, serving, selling and delivery of alcohol, and MDO activity is a reminder of that obligation,” said Andy Jurik, OLCC Director of Alcohol Compliance.
OLCC temporarily halted MDO inspections of licensed businesses that sell or serve alcohol and businesses that sell cannabis for more than two years during the pandemic.
“It’s important for our licensees to make sure that they and their employees have good protocols in place for checking IDs to prevent minors from buying,” said Jurik. “There’s also age verification equipment (AVE) they can install that will cost less than a fine or license suspension.”
Adding MDO activity to alcohol home delivery is the result of passage of House Bill 3308 during the 2023 Oregon legislative session. That legislation directs the OLCC to oversee third-party delivery companies that deliver alcoholic beverages to consumers.
Drivers for these delivery companies are required to check the identification of the person receiving the order when it contains alcoholic beverages to make sure that person is not a minor. The MDO monitoring of alcohol home delivery is designed to prevent “drop and dash” activity, where a delivery driver leaves alcoholic beverages without checking for an identification.
