ELLIS COUNTY SHERIFF GETS FEW REPORTS OF HUFFING

Called "huffing," or sometimes "sniffing," the practice of inhaling
concentrated chemicals to get high from the fumes has been around a long time.

Now inhalants have been added to the list of drugs that can be used for a
driving under the influence conviction.

Huffers use common and readily available chemicals, like aerosol sprays,
spray paint, glue, paint thinner and certain cleaning agents that have
strong fumes that can intoxicate a person.

The Ellis County Sheriff's Department has dealt with few huffing cases over
the years, Sheriff Ed Harbin said.

"We have very few cases reported, but in talking to the kids, there are
some kids out there that probably do this," Harbin said. "I can remember
two cases, but they've been years ago."

Harbin said he can remember when model airplane glue became difficult to
buy in the 1960s. No one under the age of 18 could purchase it. The glue
had become a popular chemical to sniff. Users were putting glue into
plastic bags to inhale the fumes.

Huffing is a poor choice because its consequences include brain damage and
death, Harbin notes. It can also cause damage to internal organs and hamper
normal development in growing children.

"We've been real lucky that nobody's died from it," Harbin said. "Those
that have done it have been lucky, I guess."

But the practice is not new, he points out.

"When we were in school, we knew it went on. You sit back and wonder why
they're making all these laws, but the bottom line is, they're doing it for
your own safety," Harbin said.

It's been probably two years since Hays police dealt with inhalant abuse,
Officer Don Scheibler said.

"We know it goes on, but we don't see much of it," Scheibler said.

Hays City Prosecutor Glenn Braun is glad to see legislators amend the DUI
law to add inhalants.

"I think it's good. They've found a problem in the law, and they've
remedied it. I can see where creative defenses might be available," Braun said.

Braun uses huffing glue to illustrate his point. Before this, glue was not
defined as a drug under criminal law. If an officer arrested someone for
DUI who had used glue to get high, the defendant could tell the court he
was under the influence of glue, which isn't a drug. The judge, bound to a
strict definition of the law, would have to find the person not guilty,
despite the fact the person was driving impaired.

"They probably remedied a defect in the law," Braun said.