Sniffing Trumps Weed for 12-Year-Olds

(CBS)  More 12-year-olds in the U.S. get high by sniffing inhalants than by using marijuana, cocaine or hallucinogens combined, a new government report finds.

A survey released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration finds that lifetime use of potentially deadly inhalants among 12-year-olds was 6.9 percent in 2008, compared with 5.1 percent for illegal prescription drugs, 1.4 percent for marijuana, 0.7 percent for hallucinogens and 0.1 percent for cocaine.

"We continue to face the challenge of increasing experimentation and intentional misuse of common household products among the youngest and most vulnerable segments of our population - 12 year olds," Harvey Weiss, executive director for the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition, said in a statement. "The data are ominous and their implications are frightening because of the toxic, chemical effects of these legal products on growing minds and bodies."

Products that young Americans sniff include aerosol cans, glue, paint solvents and lighter fluid, among others. Experts warn that these inhalants can cause cardiac arrest, known as "sudden sniffing death."

The data, found in the National Surveys on Drug Use and Health, was released in conjunction with the 18th annual National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week.

Sniffing has been a fairly steady trend among 12-year-olds in recent years, according to Joseph Gfroerer, director of SAMHSA's division of population surveys. The lifetime rate has fluctuated between 7.7 percent and 6.1 percent since 2002.

More broadly, 1.1 percent of children ages 12 to 17 engaged in sniffing in 2008, compared with 6.7 percent who smoked marijuana.

According to Dr. Timothy Condon, deputy director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the data on inhalants abuse presents a number of potential troublesome trends.

"There's a disturbing downward trend among high schoolers who see 'great risk' in using inhalants once or twice a week," Condon said in a statement. "At the same time, the survey shows that inhalant use isn't declining as much as it has in recent years among eighth and tenth graders. If today's attitude translates into future use, we have reason to be concerned."

Also present at the news conference kicking off the awareness week was Ashley Upchurch, a 17-year-old recovering from an inhalants addiction, who warned of the dangers of sniffing.

"Inhalants were a cheap, legal, and an intense high that would also enhance the feeling I would get from other drugs," she said. "These highs nearly destroyed my life."

[mrtracker]

It's called "substitution". There is, and always will be a small segment of the population who "needs" to get high. They will use whatever they can, regardless of laws or risk.

It's funny how the Netherlands, where pot is effectively legal, has a much lower rate of cannabis users than the US, an even lower rate of hard drug users, and an unusually low rate of teen drug use. Not to mention, the US states that have legalized the medical use of marijuana have seen as much as a 50% drop in the rate of teen use. It's obviously counter-intuitive, so I wonder why those who want to "protect the children" keep pushing pushing for laws that make the drug problem worse.

[Conservative_1976]

As a parent, I would be much more alarmed to learn that a child was using inhalants than to learn that he or she were using marijuana. Marijuana users generally settle in for a quiet evening with the TV, some snacks, and a nap. Not exactly a threat to themselves or society.

It's time to allow ordinary Americans to grow a little marijuana in their own back yards (maybe a $100 permit for a dozen plants).

It would rip the guts out of the drug cartels' pocketbook and free up our tax dollars for education, repairing our bridges, fighting terrorism, and a hundred other worthy goals.

Does anybody really think that locking up marijuana users, or even people who grow a few plants for themselves... Does anybody _really_ think locking those people up is a good use of our tax dollars?

[ddog88]

Someone must because we still do it. I think it may be the egg farmers because they seemed pretty mad back in the 80's with the brain on drug commercials. Wonder what a brain would look like on huffing glue?

[ky7474]

The ability to truthfully educate our kids would be very helpful when it comes to drugs, but all they get are lies and educaters mainstreaming them into one way of thinking. Being we're all unique individuals, rebellion should be expected. Much of this is a bi-product of the corrupt society we live in. The ruined lives and deaths of kids [in this instance] rest on our corrupt policy makers, the religous extremists, and all those that refuse to let people be free. Kids definitely need direction and education, but when we purposely hide the truths surrounding these issues they are forced to experiment and discover for themselves.

[curse914]

What it all boils down to is that Glue is a "gateway" drug!

I propose a very expensive and ineffectual "War On Glue". We will need a new mammoth bureaucracy to protect our citizens from glue. But don't worry; I am a small government "family values" conservative, so the money that would be spent on this war will be paid for with "tax cuts".

[ArcticRabbit]

tundramedicinedreams.blogspot.com/2006/.../huffing

I believe that the hospital mentioned in this article was the first in the US dedicated to inhalation treatment.

Check out this site if you will...sorry, I can't seem to get this to post so that you can go directly there.

I personally lost a prospective student who'd just turned 10 to huffing. I did get to work with a younger and older brother of his who'd also been into huffing.

At one time, this had been very popular with the leaders of the community,those who are "elders" now- those who have survived. They now encourage the young people not to huff, but words don't mean much after their behavior set an example early on in the lives of the youth.

[Feelfreetoignoreme]

Hmm, i wonder why 12-year-olds huff instead of doing weed. Weed is illegal, so it's not easy for a little kid to get his hands on. Aerosols, solvents and glues are in every basement in america. Imagine you're a 12-year-old who's been introduced to the idea that it's cool to get high. Weed is hard for you to come by, and it's not cheap either, as your only income is an allowance. and forget about the real hard drugs like cocaine, heroin and amphetimines. So what do you do? Sneak some aerosols or solvents and huff. Your friends didn't happen to tell you that it's likely to kill you and guaranteed to screw with your brain cells, and as you're 12, you don't think ahead much. Of course, marijuana doesn't do good things to a 12-year-old's mind, but at least it doesn't cause instant death.

[BeachBuzz]

Replying to your reply on a previous post...The answer is and has always been negative. I have never been witness, or heard of anyone coming to an E.R. with the complaint of Cannabis ingestion/inhalation. Again,I'm not saying it hasn't happen, but you would think after fifteen years I would have at least heard of one.....

[Feelfreetoignoreme]

Now that i think about it, do people go to the ER when they experience symptoms like instant death?

[quotelawrence]

I think that 40 years ago I wanted to feel different so I experiemented with mind altering substances, but our current generation 12 year olds are looking for other more real forms
of experiences. if we look back in time we see that once in history
children were able to have experiences parents would tell their kids to go play outside, there were fields, farmlands and things to do, but with the growth we have experieneced over the past 40 years most land has been developed into Mall's experiences today are kids are either spoiled rotten or extremely poor here in America, the messages are not clear where thugs, drug dealers and gang members are the bad guys, because we project on our kids that perverts, are bad, they should feel good about sex but not with perverts, we are a breeding ground for confussion, and contradiction. kids are wanting involvement but are stuck being involved with people that would tell them to sniff paint, rather than golf, or hike, or music, watch videos of kids in south america and they also are sniffing paint, we need to rethink what we want from kids, success or blaming, are we telling them we love them or are we telling them not to make the same mistake we made, and making them think they are mistakes.

[BeachBuzz]

I've worked E.R.'s for the 15 years, big,small,urban and rural. I have yet to see a kid brought in status post huffing. Doesn't mean it doesn't happen, but you would think I would have at least heard about one kid. On the other hand, parents would be wise to put their prescribed meds under lock and key. When disseminating information, we must consider the source and where they get the majority of funding.SAMSA and NIDA for examples. If you are not afraid, these people do not have work. Have a nice day :)

[Feelfreetoignoreme]

On the other hand, have you ever seen someone brought in status after smoking weed?

[Xavcore]

In my opinion, that is the proof that human have lost the control.
People are lost and they are afraid about something, often it's caused by a lot of factors. Anyway they search a means to forget their problem.

Don't forget that people get high sometimes by stupidity, because of bad friends, but also, and that is the main reason that they have lost the control in the real life and take according them the control in the clound by floating in the air.

According to some people, that is a good reason to legalized Marijuna. False Answer, you know like me that some people have never enough, after that, that will be a good reason tomorrow to legalized anything else.

[Xavcore]

In my opinion, that is the proof that human have lost the control.
People are lost and they are afraid about something, often it's caused by a lot of factors. Anyway they search a means to forget their problem.

Don't forget that people get high sometimes by stupidity, because of bad friends, but also, and that is the main reason that they have lost the control in the real life and take according them the control in the clound by floating in the air.

According to some people, that is a good reason to legalized Marijuna. False Answer, you know like me that some people have never enough, after that, that will be a good reason tomorrow to legalized anything else.