Canadian Town Ponders What To Do About Inhalant Abuse

From The CBC News (May 17):

"A lot of people believe if you talk about it you're going to make it happen, and that's proven not to be the case," an addiction counselor says rationalizing a reservation's silence about inhalant abuse. Under the cover of night, Canadian police have seen minors sniffing fumes from propane tanks. Less than two weeks ago, a girl was admitted for burns after the gas ignited during a binge. Last month, a 14 year old girl died while sniffing propane fumes.

The resulting picture has caused Southend officials to think hard about their anti-drug responses. Inhalant abuse incidents receded following the fatal sniffing accident, but this is a persistent problem in the Saskatchewan community. "We don't need to hide it," he said. "We are the people that are suffering..."

For now, officials are encouraging a dialogue that starts at home. The addiction counselor recommends a simple, yet oft-skipped stop,"[Talk] with kids about it early enough that they know that certain chemicals were never meant to be in your body."