NN POLICE MAKE UNUSUAL CHARGE OF INHALANT ABUSE

'Huffing' Law Is Tough To Enforce; The Act Must Be Witnessed

Newport News -- An 18-year-old Newport News man was convicted Friday of
inhaling noxious chemicals - a misdemeanor charge authorities said is
rarely used in the city in part because of the difficulty in catching
someone in the act.

In this case, {NAME DELETED} was charged after a Newport News police
officer stopped him for speeding last October and said he smelled a strong
odor coming from the car. Officer Martin Scott testified in court that
after he asked {NAME DELETED} to get out of the car, he noticed silver
paint residue around the teen's mouth and nose. The residue, Scott
testified, was consistent with a practice called "huffing" - to which {NAME
DELETED} admitted, Scott said.

Huffing, also known as inhalant use, is the intentional breathing of gas or
vapors to get high. While the products used to huff are legal - such as
glue, paint and fingernail polish - the practice is illegal in Virginia.

The law has been on the books for about 30 years, but Newport News
prosecutors said they don't believe it's used very often. Police spokesman
Harold Eley said he could recall only one other such charge in the past
eight years, and that charge wasn't prosecuted.

"It's hard to catch someone doing it - that's why we don't use it a lot,"
said Shannon McEwen, chief deputy commonwealth's attorney for the city.

Huffing is among the most common types of substance abuse among teenagers,
according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. It can be deadly -
abusers risk damage to the brain and nervous system. Sniffing volatile
substances can cause a lack of oxygen and cause the heart to beat erratically.

Inhalants aren't a controlled substance, "so kids don't think it's bad,"
said Dr. Rutherfoord Rose, director of the Virginia Poison Center at
Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond. "But it can
kill you the very first time you do it or the 100th time."

Last year, the Virginia Poison Center tracked more than 100 cases of
intentional inhalant exposure in central and eastern Virginia. Inhalants
included aerosol hair spray, air fresheners and typewriter correction fluid.

"It's a big deal, even down through middle school," Rose said. "These are
chemicals that are readily available."

Scott said that while {NAME DELETED} admitted to huffing, he said it had
happened earlier and not while he was driving. Police found a plastic bag
in {NAME DELETED}'s rear pants pocket that had silver paint in it, the
officer said.

Rose said "bagging" - sniffing fumes from substances sprayed into plastic
or paper bags - is one method of inhaling.

The officer charged the teen with inhaling noxious chemicals as well as
underage possession of alcohol and speeding - driving 58 mph in a 45 mph on
J. Clyde Morris Boulevard. {NAME DELETED} admitted to drinking earlier,
Scott said.

In General District Court on Friday, {NAME DELETED} was convicted of the
three misdemeanor charges against him. He was given a suspended jail
sentence, fined $1,000 and ordered to perform 50 hours of community service
for the alcohol charge.

{NAME DELETED}'s attorney, Matt Danielson, immediately said he plans to
appeal the convictions, partly because he believes the officer unlawfully
detained his client. Danielson said the officer shouldn't have been able to
detain {NAME DELETED} just because he smelled something like paint thinner
in the car.

"We would all agree there are legal uses for paint thinners, like thinning
paint," Danielson said.

For more information about inhalant abuse, visit www.inhalants.org or www.
drugabuse.gov