'Vapor Alcohol' Leaves Lawmakers In A Huff BOSTON -- State lawmakers are moving quickly to ban a device that lets users get drunk by simply inhaling. The device, AWOL (alcohol without liquid), mixes spirits, such as vodka or whiskey, with pressurized oxygen to create a vapor, according to the product's Web site. A person inhales the cloudy mixture through a tube for about 20 minutes to consume one shot. Kevin Morse, president of North Carolina-based Spirit Partners, Inc., the company that makes the AWOL device, did not return repeated phone calls last week. Anyone caught with the device could face six months of jail time or a fine up to $200, under the proposed law. [continues 670 words]
BOSTON -- Lt. Gov. Kerry Healey said Tuesday that "stunning statistics" regarding troubled kids in Fitchburg makes the city an ideal location to test a new substance abuse-related school program. "The rate of drug abuse, the mortality rate for car accidents and child abuse are much higher in Fitchburg than the state average," Healey told the Sentinel & Enterprise Tuesday. "There are some real health concerns for children in Fitchburg." Healey spoke with a reporter after speaking at a fundraising event Tuesday, hosted by Fitchburg-based charity Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited (CAVU). The event was geared to raise money for child health programs in Fitchburg and Lawrence. [continues 347 words]
A Leominster man named Scott pulled a syringe, scissors and a small metal dish out of a shaving kit hidden in the back of his utility van. He ripped open a small packet and poured white powder -- heroin -- into the dish, dissolving it in water. "There it is," he whispered. He then pulled a rubber bungee cord off the wall, twisted it around his right bicep, and tied it tightly. Scott stretched out his arm, located a vein and plunged the needle into his skin, releasing the drug into his bloodstream. [continues 3622 words]
