CRACKDOWN ON HUFFING

Revision Of State Law Expands Policing Options

Huffers take risks every time they get high - risks like asphyxiation,
heart failure and dementia.

They don't need to put other Kansans at risk by driving. But they do,
without fear of punishment for driving under the influence.

For another few days, anyway.

A new law takes effect July 1, adding a list of toxins to drugs covered by
the state's DUI statutes. Police say they needed the leverage.

Huffers abuse inhalants, everything from gasoline to spray paint to
correction fluid. They snort fumes from containers, spray aerosols into
their noses, sniff chemicals from plastic bags, inhale from balloons filled
with nitrous oxide and stuff inhalant-soaked rags into their mouths. All
for a quick high.

Then they drive.

Sen. Jim Barnett, an Emporia physician, said police testified in Topeka
this spring about pulling over drivers who acted drunk. But by state law,
prosecutors couldn't charge the drivers with DUI because their blood
alcohol content turned out to be zero.

"It was because they had been huffing," Barnett said.

Barnett became a strong advocate for changing the state's DUI law to cover
huffing. The new law makes inhalant abuse a Class B misdemeanor.

National and state surveys show that inhalant abuse often peaks between
seventh and ninth grades. In Garden City and Salina, usage dropped when the
communities outlawed huffing and began public awareness campaigns.

When huffers get high, they risk brain damage, kidney failure, bone marrow
injury and suffocation. But when they climb behind they wheel, they put
innocent Kansans at risk.

The state's new inhalant abuse law makes communities safer because it
punishes huffers who drive. If they're caught, they'll be fined and
possibly sent to jail.

They'll also be required to complete a drug treatment or education program.
That, too, makes Kansas safer, because it may save the life of a huffer.