ABUSE OF NITROUS OXIDE IS ON THE RISE AMONG TEENS

Drug is more commonly known as laughing gas

SALT LAKE CITY -- Drug agents from the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Department
say increasing numbers of teens are inhaling nitrous oxide, commonly known
as laughing gas, to get high.

Teens are getting high off the gas at rave parties and even in the parking
lots of their schools, Sheriff's Sgt. Darren Carr said.

Skyline High School Assistant Principal Ike Spencer said he and other school
officials couldn't figure out why they were finding so many metal gas
canisters by the school's tennis courts.

Drug agents told them the kids were going out there between classes to "take
a hit."

Nitrous oxide is also making a regular appearance at rave parties. Teens
commonly take empty balloons to the parties and pay to have them filled with
nitrous oxide.

The gas gives the user a temporary euphoric feeling, Carr said. But there
are no controls for dosage amounts.

"These guys just fill a balloon and give it to a 100-pound female or a
200-pound guy."

Nitrous oxide is harmful to the brain because it replaces oxygen in cells
and leaves them starved.

In large amounts it can lead to permanent brain damage, police say.

Reports of stolen nitrous oxide are becoming common.

Four large canisters of the gas were stolen Tuesday from Timpanogos Hospital
in Orem.

Orem Police Lt. Doug Edwards said the $150 tanks were stored outside the
main hospital in a fenced area.

Chain link and barbed wire were cut to grab the tanks, he said.

A tank of the gas also was taken last month from an Orem dentist's office,
Edwards said.

In Salt Lake City, small canisters of nitrous oxide are being sold at shops
that carter to the drug culture, Carr said.

Utah lawmakers passed a bill this past legislative session that makes it a
class A misdemeanor to possess nitrous oxide for the purpose of getting
high, said Carr. But selling the gas is legal.

Parents, too, are finding signs of nitrous oxide use. "The light comes on
and parents say, 'We have those in our home,"' Spencer said.

One parent told Spencer her child was having rave parties in her basement
every weekend and she didn't know it.

"She said she thought they were just dancing," Spencer said.

Skyline officials conducted a workshop with county drug agents to train
teachers and administrators on how to spot signs of nitrous oxide or other
club drugs.

Many teens who inhale nitrous oxide and other club drugs don't realize what
they're doing is harmful.

"Students don't think of it as drugs. They say it makes them feel better,"
Spencer said.