VSA Headlines - August 2018

This  month, The Conversation published Volatile substance abuse – a problem that never went away, a new paper by Harry Sumnall and Sarah MacLean.

"Drug related deaths are now at their highest levels since records began in England and Wales. In 2017, there were 56 ecstasy deaths, each new tragedy generating headlines and leading to calls for action, such as the introduction of drug checking in nightclubs and festivals. But others are abusing a different range of substances, a problem that many people think largely disappeared in the 1980s and has been ignored in all the headlines ..." Read the full paper here.

News headlines this month included:-

UK

Returned to habit of sniffing air fresheners: A 38-year-old man found in a car in Portadown under the influence of something had returned to a habit of his teenage years of sniffing air fresheners, a court heard last week.

24-year-old woman shares warning on Facebook after laughing gas left her paralysed: Olivia Golding can no longer walk, and wants other people to learn from her mistakes.

Teen rushed to hospital after inhaling excessive levels of 'laughing gas': The youngster, who has since been discharged, was rushed to A&E after consuming a large amount of the nitrous oxide while out with friends in Warrington.

Shop under fire for selling 'hippy crack' gas canisters to children as young as 14: An off-licence accused of selling laughing gas to children as young as 14 was found to have nearly 13,500 silver canisters of the so-called “hippy crack”, police said.

Leeds NOS dealer caught with 360 Nitrous Oxide canisters in McDonald's car park: A court heard [he] admitted to officers that he had been selling Nitrous Oxide - also know as laughing gas - to others for £10 a time

Paramedic's purse stolen as thieves break into ambulance: Police said, aside from the personal belongings, canisters of oxygen and nitrous oxide and life support kits were taken.

60 hours' unpaid work for man who stole gas canisters worth £4.50: [The Procurator Fiscal] added the concern was that the product could be used for inhaling.

Hippy crack: how dangerous is nitrous oxide? Council workers pick up more than a million empty canisters on streets of one London borough.

Hordes of teenagers 'taking hippy crack en masse' in Tower Hamlets as police and council try to combat epidemic: Many east Londoners may be familiar with the sight of a pavement festooned with silver gas canisters or packs of bored teenagers having chemically-stimulated laughing fits.

Carnival war on knives - but police turn blind eye to hippy crack: On the ground in Notting Hill.

Illegal raves are being held in children's play areas in Gloucestershire and people have had it: Patrols were stepped up in Stroud at the weekend as Gloucestershire Police set about stamping out a recent spate of illegal raves and drug use around the town centre.

No laughing matter for Wapping residents threatened with violence by ASB thugs: On Wednesday morning the footpath next to the One O’Clock Club in the Gardens was littered with hundreds of discarded laughing gas canisters in one of the worst cases of Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) related littering Love Wapping has seen in the last five years.

Parents warned to watch out for dangerous laughing gas paraphernalia in Flintshire: North Wales Police has been calling on residents to educate their children about the dangers of inhaling nitrous oxide (laughing gas) in recent weeks.

“Laughing gas” canister find on beach sparks health warning: A Montrose councillor has raised concerns after finding nearly 50 discarded canisters that previously contained a potentially lethal gas at Montrose Beach, leading to calls restricting the sale of the items.

Warning to parents as laughing gas canisters litter Abbey Wood (SE London): Laughing gas canisters are being found all over Abbey Wood and residents are not happy.

Dad and daughter find nitrous oxide canisters at Accrington park: A father and his young daughter discovered a number of nitrous oxide canisters as they enjoyed a walk at a popular beauty spot.

Sneaky truckers! Traffic cops use unmarked HGVs to catch thousands of drivers: ... Meanwhile, two DPD delivery drivers were seen inhaling nitrous oxide, often called 'hippy crack', in their parked van before driving off in Simmons Leasow, Birmingham.

Best theatre to see at Summerhall: Huff is a daring solo show by award-winning indigenous playwright Cliff Cardinal, which tells the wrenching yet darkly comic tale of indigenous brothers caught in a torrent of solvent abuse and struggling with the death of their mother.

The weirdest things we learned this week: bone flutes, zebra carriages, and laughing gas parties: In late-18th- and early-19th-century England, people really enjoyed inhaling laughing gas.

IRELAND

Pills mum started off sniffing nail varnish: [The 41-year-old] began sniffing nail varnish when she was a teenager and ended up using heroin, a court was told.

SPAIN

Ibiza officials to vote on a ban of laughing gas: The use of nitrous oxide could result in fines for revellers.

CYPRUS

Two women fined for selling laughing gas: Two women were fined by the Famagusta court in Larnaca on Monday for negligent and reckless acts by selling laughing gas.

TURKEY

Gas lighter kills another Turkish teen: A Turkish teen has died after inhaling gas lighter, becoming the latest victim of a dangerous trend that experts issued warnings about.

USA

Drowning Autopsy: Death not suspicious; huffing clues found (MI): Two containers were found in the vehicle which are typically used for cleaning keyboards or huffing. One container was empty and the other was half-empty.

Huffing suspect shot to death, shooter released (OK): One person is dead from a gunshot at the Super 8 Hotel near 31st and South Memorial.

DUI by ‘huffing’? (FL): Delray crash case spotlights potency of inhalants.

Casper police arrest man for huffing air duster, hitting baby (WY): A Natrona County man was arrested Friday after he allegedly huffed air duster and struck an infant.

Winslow man was inhaling Dust-Off before crash into house (ME): [The 49-year-old] is sentenced to jail and has his license and registration privileges suspended for three years after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor charges stemming from the crash.

Woman was huffing glue while riding a scooter before crashing into a Saugus Walmart (MA): A 35-year-old Lynn woman crashed her motorized scooter into Walmart while huffing glue, according to Saugus Police

Massena woman accused of huffing on railroad tracks (NY): A Massena woman was charged on Tuesday with huffing on railroad tracks, according to village police.

Chapel Hill ISD teacher arrested then fired (TX): East Texas Matters reports law enforcement suspects [he] was getting high by huffing out of the aerosol can found empty in his vehicle.

Naked man found doing jumping jacks in McDonald’s restroom, police say (TN): [He] had prior arrests for huffing, the court document said. Deemed a potential danger to himself and others because of his intoxication, he was arrested.

Shocking footage of former UCLA star exchanging gunfire with the LAPD emerges as mother feared he suffered 'psychotic break' after 'huffing laughing gas (CA): [His] mother ... said the 27-year-old had been 'huffing nitrous oxide' and had not slept or eaten in days.

Nashville dentist has license suspended for abusing laughing gas during work hours (TN): A Brentwood dentist lost his medical license due to accusations he abused the use of laughing gas.

Palm Bay Man Inhales Aerosol Duster at Staples in Melbourne (FL): A Palm Bay man was found unresponsive in his vehicle in a Staples parking lot after inhaling from a Duster aerosol can, according to the Melbourne Police Department.

Consumer alleges Sunshine Daydream, others failed to ensure nitrous oxide would not be used for illicit purposes (IL): A consumer who alleges he became addicted to a colorless gas used as whipping propellant for food-grade aerosols is seeking damages from businesses who sell the gas.