Blog Report

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Ticketed 5 Times in One Week for Inhalant Abuse

From NBC 11 in Grand Junction, Colorado:

Earlier this week, a 43 year old man was taken to the hospital after being found crouched over on the side of the street with a can of computer duster in his hand. Police note it’s the “fifth time in the past week they've found him like that -- and the fifth time in the past week they've ticketed him for abusing toxic vapors.”

The article also notes another recent related inhalant incident in the same county. On December 10, a 23 year old male was found dead in his apartment. The Coroner’s office found the cause of death was “inhaling a volatile, organic compound” found in computer dusting sprays and it was the second such death they had investigated in 2010.

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Pennsylvania Man Caught Behind the Wheel Again

Via The Progress in Pennsylvania:

A 30 year old man has entered a guilty plea to charges of “smelling/inhaling toxic releasing substances, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness.”

Back in October the man was found slumped over and unresponsive in a truck that was running with the door open. When police turned off the ignition they found a can of duster in the man’s hand. When he came to the man “admitted he had recently purchased the duster and went behind Kmart to inhale it.” More cans of duster were found in the car and the man was taken to the hospital for evaluation.

Three days later, police received reports of a man huffing computer duster in a Wal-Mart parking lot. The vehicle description matched the one in the case above and the registration and when sheriff’s deputies pulled the truck over, it was same driver.

This time he initially denied but then admitted to huffing and noted that he needs help.

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Trying to Hide a Car Under a Bridge After Huffing

Via the Lake County News Sun in Illinois:

A 29 year-old man was arrested last week fur DUI/using inhalants after driving down a ditch to hide his car under a bridge. Police found him and he was taken to a medical center for evaluation.

Friday, December 17, 2010

Inhalant Abuse on Cape Cod

Via CBS Boston:

Yarmouth police are concerned about the recent increase in inhalant abuse in their region. They discovered an area of the woods that is continuously “littered with cans of whipped cream and dust cleaning spray.”

As police were investigating, one officer responded to a call of a 22 year old man that was having a seizure in the middle of a busy road. The officer called the man’s parents and as they were putting him in the car, he was trying to hide a can of computer dusting spray.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

California Survey Results for Inhalant Use by Lafayette 7th Graders

Via the Lamorinda Patch in California:

The California Healthy Kids Survey results for Lafayette’s seventh graders was just released. The survey notes:
  • 5% of the students have used inhalants
  • 2% of the students have used inhalants within the past 30 days
  • Statewide, 5% of the students have reported using inhalants within the past 30 days

Illinois Man Arrested After Huffing Behind the Wheel

From TribLocal / Chicago Tribune in Illinois:

Earlier this week a 29 year old man lost control of his car while huffing computer dusters behind the wheel. The car entered a local bike path before crossing the street and ending up in a parking lot. The driver failed a field sobriety test and was arrested and charged with driving under the influence of drugs.

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Interesting New National Inhalant Data from Monitoring the Future

Yesterday the results of the 2009 Monitoring the Future national report were released.

Figure 9 of the report details "Inhalants: Trends in Annual Use, Risk, and Disapproval in Grades 8, 10, and 12"

Tables 1-3 get into more specific details on comparative 2009 and 2010 inhalant use for 8th, 10th, and 12th graders:

  • Lifetime use of inhalant for all three grades has decreased from 2009 (8th grade= -.5%; 10th grade= -.3%; 12th grade= -.4%) -table 1
  • Annual use of inhalants has decreased for 8th & 10th but INCREASED for 12th (8th= -.1%, 10th = -.4%; 12th= +.2%)
  • 30 day use of inhalants has decreased for 8th & 10th but INCREASED for 12th (8th = -.2%; 10th= -.2%; 12th=+.2%)

Table 6 shows that risk perception for 10th graders has increased from 2009-2010

Table 8 shows no change in 8th graders disapproval of using inhalants "once or twice" but an increase in their disapproval of inhalants regularly.

Table 9 shows a decrease in 10th graders disapproval of using inhalants both "regularly" and "once or twice" a week.

Teen Passes Out After Huffing In a Wal-Mart

Via ABC-15 in Arizona:

In Maricopa, a teen walked into a local Wal-Mart, picked-up a canister of CO2 (commonly used for pellet and paintball guns) and started inhaling from it within the store.

A store employee found the teen passed out in the sporting good section with an empty canister of CO2 beside him. The employee called 911 but before police arrived the teen came to and ran out of the store.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Car Crash in Wyoming Due to Dusters

Via the Gillette News Record in Wyoming:

Last month a 19 year old man was involved in an inhalant related crash. He had been huffing computer dusters behind the wheel when he passed out and crashed into a building.

Surveillance footage showed him running from the accident holding a can of the duster. He then hid the duster and then returned to the car. Police found a can of duster in the car and another in the snow with his bloody fingerprints on it. He admitted to huffing behind the wheel and pled guilty to “driving under the influence of an inhalant, huffing and driving with a suspended license.”

He was sentenced to a month in jail and was ordered to pay $1,370 in fines and $1,821 in restitution. The article notes that it marks the “stiffest jail sentence for huffing in the past three years, according to Circuit Court records.”

Monday, December 13, 2010

Lanca Parfume - Brazil's Party Inhalant Heads to the US

Via SoberLiving.com

Law enforcement fears that Lanca-perfume (pronounced lahn-sah pear-foo-mee) will soon make its appearance in the US. Currently popular in Brazil, it’s “inhaled from “poppers” and contains ethyl chloride, giving the user a brief but intense “rush.” The flasks also contain a perfume which gives the drug its name.

7th Grade Inhalant Use in California

Via the Lamorinda Patch in California:

The article discusses the California Healthy Kids Survey results for 7th grade students at Orinda middle school. The survey revealed that 9% of the 7th graders have used inhalants, compared to 11% statewid

e. For past 30 day use, 3% had used inhalants.

Inhalant Death from Toluene

Via the Kimikareena blog:

Last week a coroner inquiry heard that a 42 year old man’s death back in July was due to toluene poisoning caused by glue sniffing. Employees at a coffee shop found a man dead in the store’s bathroom. A fingerprint check revealed the man’s identity and police reports revealed that he had a history of inhalant abuse stretching back to 1990.

The post also notes that “while there have been
several cases of addicts drowning or falling to the death from buildings after abusing inhalants, death by toluene toxicity is very rare.” It describes one case in 2001 where a 26 year old Malaysian was found dead in the backseat of his car with a plastic bag over his head. Tests revealed that he “had abused inhalants that contained toluene and died after breathing too much of it in the enclosed car.”

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Man Crashes Into Police Car After Huffing

From the News Herald in Michigan:

Last Wednesday, police received a report for a suspicious person in the parking lot of a Rite-Aide. There, they found a 26 year-old man slumped over the wheel of his car.

He was huffing a chemical so they asked him to put it down and get out of the vehicle. The man refused and continued to huff the product. Police then broke the window and the man put the car into reverse, slamming the police car twice. Officers pulled him out of the car and took him to a hospital.

TN Woman Arrested for Inhalant Abuse for the 22nd Time

From WRCB-TV in Tennessee:

On Thanksgiving night, a woman was arrested for inhalant abuse. Police found her with “glue around her face, holding a paint can and several plastic bags.” Her inhalant record goes back to 1999 and this most recent case is the 22nd time she has been arrested for inhalant abuse.

She pled guilty to huffing inhalants and was sentenced to 11 months in jail. A judge suspended the sentence and changed it to probation. She has since fled and her twin brother believes she is in Alabama. Her family is desperately seeking ways to help stop her addiction.