The following printed in the March 19 edition of The StarLedger.

This is a late submission, but I'm now getting through a horrible illness
that has drained my strength and will to read all this mail and get in
submissions. I hope the news briefs will cut down on the volume posted to
MAPTalk.

This is a drug war hysteria type of article, coming from a paper which is
usually reasonable about such matters (as of late). I couldn't help adding
comments to the article of my own between paragraphs, indicated in parentheses
[ ].

The StarLedger
1 Star Ledger Plaza
Newark, NJ 071021200

eletters@starledger.com

Reader Forum letters: 200 words max
Speaking Up columns: 500 words max

Teens whip up a quick high

Cops find more youths getting intoxicated by inhaling nitrous oxide

By Christopher M. Loder

STARLEDGER STAFF

It is one of the cheapest and easiest ways to get high, and it's making a
comeback in New Jersey much to the concern of law enforcement.

[1st note: why on earth is this a law enforcement concern? Isn't this a
concern for medical professionals?]

A growing number of juveniles are using "whippets," small metal cylinders
several inches long that contain nitrous oxide. The colorless gas is used as a
preignition booster in auto racing and as a propellant in aerosol whipped
cream.

Teens looking for kicks get a quick high by inhaling the gas either directly
from the cylinder or from a balloon that has been inflated with the nitrous
oxide.

(photo)

PHOTO BY JACK S. KANTHAL
Kenilworth Detective John Zimmerman shows a whippet enclosed in a brass
fitting vath balloon attached.

[A note about the photo that came to mind was the insidious manner in which
the LEO was depicting the device used, as if it were a murder weapon. I recall
a picture taken during the 1980's when drug war hysteria seemed at a peak,
with Nancy Reagan and several LEOs raiding what appeared to be a crack house.
As the officers were carting off the occupants, the former 1st lady was
examining the paraphernalia about the place with a look on her face like,
"and these disgusting vermin use this stuff to get high..."]

The gas popular in the 1960s and 1970s gives a feeling of exhilaration,
giddiness, lightheadedness and altered perceptions. Since the feeling wears
off quickly when oxygen is breathed in, users hold their breath, which can
cause them to pass out. Its side effects include nausea, vomiting and even
death, authorities said.

"It is probably the most popular moodaltering drug in the country, said
Ronald Brogan, spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in
Newark. He said it is often used at teen and college parties.

[Probably? Doesn't he _know_, as a DEA spokesperson? Does this rival alcohol?]

Two recent incidents in Kenilworth, Union County, have police concerned.

On Feb. 28, five Roselle Park teenagers were arrested on disorderly conduct
charges at the KenilWorth Inn on the Boulevard and the Garden State Parkway
after Police found several nitrous oxide canisters and a balloon.

Officers were initially called to the scene amid reports that the youths
were doing criminal mischief to the cars in the parking lot.

The next day, police again responded to the Kenilworth Inn amid reports of a
disturbance in a room. Two juveniles and four young adults, also from Roselle
Park, were arrested, also on disorderly charges, after authorities found
numerous nitrous oxide cartridges, a brass fitting which later turned out to
be a whippet, large balloons and hard liquor.

[I don't have to clarify the point about hard liquor being found. Since using
the whippets are illegal and the use of hard liquor is not if you are of age,
obviously the whippets must have caused the youths to go berserk.]

"They were drinking and using this nitrous oxide to get high," said
Kenilworth Detective John Zimmerman. "We had found out that the brass fitting
goes onto these nitrous oxide cartridges, and then it goes into the balloon.
The youths then suck the air out of the balloon."

[This is really humorous the way it is written. How much detective work did it
take to find out how whippets are used again?]

Brogan said the nitrous oxide is dangerous. It can lead to deterioration of
the spinal cord and can cause damage to a fetus if inhaled by a pregnant
woman. It also depletes the body's ability to heal.

In rare cases, users have dropped dead suddenly when the oxygen in the lungs
is completely replaced by the gas, Brogan said.

[This has to be incorrect. Brief lack of oxygen in the lungs does not cause
death from asphyxiation. The lack of oxygen in vital body parts, namely the
brain, will. He should know a little bit about what he is enforcing us
against.]

Sniffing nitrous oxide led to the accidental death of 16yearold Justin
Lange of Long Valley in 1993.

DEA's Brogan said it is also physically and psychologically addictive and
that the rate of relapse is almost 100 percent.

[What on earth does this mean? 100 percent addiction rate? The 1st time you
use it, you are a lifelong addict, using one cartridge after another? Makes
for great scare tactics for parents and lawmakers, but I doubt there is much
truth in this.]

(photo)

PHOTO BY JACK S. KANTHAL

A spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in Newark said the
inhalant is used by proprietors of oldfashioned soda fountains that make
their own whipped cream. But since few soda fountains still exist, a large
share of the market is believed to be made up of illcit users.

"A heavy nitrous oxide user will use up to 50 or 60 cartridges in a day,"
he said.

Brogan said whipped cream is now sold in supermarkets with tamperproof tops
to stop employees inhaling a blast of nitrous oxide and putting the product
back on the shelf, a problem that was detected when consumer began to complain
of flat whipped cream.

He said the inhalant it is technically not a drug is used by proprietors
of oldfashioned soda fountains that make their own whipped cream (hence the
name whippet). But since few soda fountains still exist, a large share of the
market is believed to be made up of illicit users.

Nitrous oxide isn't the only inhalant used by teens. With younger kids,
especially those between the age of 12 to 15, the inhalants of choice are
glue, gasoline and even whiteout, according to Rick Kennedy, director of
training and education for the Union Townshipbased Institute for Prevention.
The institute is part of the Saint Barnabas Behavioral Health Network.

Other inhalants include nail polish remover, cleaning fluids, hair spray and
cooking spray.

Under New Jersey state statute, it is a disorderly person's offense to use
or possess any substance containing any chemical material which has the
property of releasing a toxic vapor or fume. It is also against the law to
sell or offer any chemical or propellant that is capable of releasing toxic
fumes to someone under 18. The maximum penalty is six months in jail, said
Union County Executive Assistant Prosecutor, Robert P. O'Leary.

[The first sentence would make everyone carrying paint cans, bug spray, or
nail polish from the supermarket or home furnishing center a criminal.]

Just last week, at a meeting of the Union County Juvenile Officers
Association, whippets was included in a topic of new trends that should be of
concern to school officials and parents.

"We want to alert parents," said O'Leary.

[Is this so? Then why the law enforcement angle? Again, a great start for
pushing up sentencing laws, but with all the inaccuracies and the focus on the
need for police to solve this, not totally believable as the only motive.]

William Kleinknecht contributed to this report.

John