NITROUS OXIDE ABUSE POPULAR WITH TEENS

A high school senior who died last week while inhaling nitrous oxide
was participating in the ritualized practice of a small but persistent
niche within the drug subculture.

But laughing gas, which legally can be sold to the public, is often
overlooked as a gateway drug among experimenting teens who may be on
the verge of more hard-core use, say drug counselors and other experts.

Glue, paint thinners, dry-cleaning fluids and other chemicals have
long been used as ways to get a quick, cheap high. But nitrous oxide,
N2O, has particularly become rooted in the "rave generation," experts
say.

Web sites are devoted to its sale and use. Camden City police began
cracking down this year on a proliferation of peddlers selling
balloons full of the gas at concerts at the Tweeter Center.

"A lot of kids we see these days are known as 'garbage heads' -
garbage means anything you can do to get yourself high," said Mark
Campbell, a spokesman for Lighthouse, a substance-abuse treatment
facility in Mays Landing, Atlantic County. "It's not addictive, but it
destroys brain cells. We see this mostly with young drug users,
particularly pot smokers."

Colorless, odorless and sweet-tasting, nitrous oxide is used by
medical professionals as general anesthesia. It is also available
commercially in canisters for food preparation. But it is illegal for
anyone under 19 to possess the gas, or for anyone of any age to use it
to get high, according to the Camden County Prosecutor's Office.

Nitrous oxide provides a cheap, short euphoria that provokes giggling
and outbursts of laughter.

Edward E. "Ted" Toy, a 17-year-old senior at Paul VI High School in
Haddon Township, died Dec. 19 from " mechanical asphyxiation" when he
was inhaling nitrous oxide from a canister while in a car with a
friend. Camden County Prosecutor Lee Solomon said an autopsy showed
the canister lodged in Toy's throat.

"There's definitely a reason to be concerned," Solomon said of the
number of teens and young adults inhaling the gas. "It's something
that's reasonably prevalent. I think people should be on the lookout
for it. The use of nitrous oxide is dangerous."

Experts say the number of kids using inhalants - gases, glues and
solvents - has at least held its own for decades. It's difficult to
gauge how widespread the use of inhalants is. In 1999, 19.7 percent of
eighth-graders, 17 percent of 10th-graders, and 15.4 percent of 12th-
graders said they had abused inhalants at least once in their lives,
according to the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.

Overall, use of inhalants declined between 1996 and 1999, according
the survey - the latest reliable indicator. Boys tend to abuse
inhalants at greater rates than girls.

Nitrous oxide travels rapidly from the lungs through the blood to the
brain and other organs. In minutes, the user feels alcohol-like
effects such as slurred speech, clumsy movements, dizziness and
euphoria, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

Its sale is regulated by the state Department of Health, and licensed
physicians, dentists and veterinarians are allowed to possess it.

The gas is not listed in the state criminal code as a controlled and
dangerous substance like marijuana. But possessing it to get high is a
fourth-degree crime, the lowest-level state offense.

Users take advantage of a statute that allows the gas to be sold by
commercial kitchen supply houses and gourmet retail stores. The stores
sell the three-inch canisters, referred to generically as whippits,
for use in whipped-cream makers. The pressurized charges cause the
cream to froth.

The chargers often come in boxes of 24 that sell for about $15, or
about 60 cents each from online head shops. Abusers have been known to
produce fake catering letterheads to buy whippits in bulk.

The recyclable aluminum canisters are topped with high-pressure
seals. Though there are several ways to inhale the gas, some users buy
a kit that punctures the seal and lets the gas flow into a balloon.
Inhaling from the balloon is easier because it lets the user control
the flow of gas. Adult bookstores, head shops and even hardware stores
have been known to sell whippits.

Greg Reinert, a spokesman for the prosecutor's office, said that
selling the gas with knowledge a person will use it to get high is
illegal. But proving that can be difficult.

Some restaurant suppliers refuse to sell the canisters, and others
have adopted strict policies about whom they sell to. Because they
work in such a niche business, supply-house owners say they know most
local restaurant owners and can quickly spot someone trying to buy the
canisters for a high. Camden Bar & Restaurant Supplies Co. Inc. in
Oaklyn, a large supplier, has stopped selling the canisters.