Pubdate: Sat, 21 Feb 2004 Source: Daily Press (VA) Copyright: 2004 The Daily Press Contact: http://www.dailypress.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/585 Author: Kim O'Brien Root Note: This article is posted as an exception to MAP policies not to archive minor pre-trial arrest stories, and not to alter archived articles from what is published. In light of the novelty of these charges, in a justified exception to our usual policies, this article is archived with the names of the accused redacted. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/youth.htm (Youth) 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 - --- MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman