Drugs Under the Sink

Candy, Melanie, and Wes say plenty of their friends get high, but not the way you might think. Middle school age kids and younger are loading up on everything from whip cream cans to air freshener for a kitchen counter high. “Kids take the whip cream can all the time and they like such the nitrates out of them,” says 17 year old Candi.

Snorting, huffing and general under the kitchen counter drugs as kids like to call them are on the rise with the younger set. But the abuse of legal substances can be as lethal or more than their illegal counterparts. Because just one whiff can kill. Experts say glue, aerosols, butyl nitrate, and regular household cleaners can quickly break down cells, cause brain damage, and heart attacks.

While it’s not realistic for parents to lock up every bottle of glue, cleaner, or whipped cream they can educate their kids about the intense dangers of even experimenting with under the sink products.

Dr. Judy Wolman says the best way to prevent a tragedy is to communicate with kids and teach them that playing around with household products can produce lifelong injuries and even death.

What Parents Should Know

Most parents don’t think about the potential danger of household items beyond a child’s toddler years. But furniture polish, paint, insecticides, prescription drugs and even whipped cream can be the poison that kills an older child when used to get a high.

Many young people are becoming involved in “drug” abuse at early ages by taking common, chemical based items and using them destructively. Some kids begin experimenting with these products as early as eight years old according to Carl Sherman with Pediatric News.

“Huffing” (inhaling through the mouth), and “sniffing” (inhaling through the nose are two common practices for getting a cheap high. The chemicals and gases in products that are huffed and sniffed can be very dangerous and even cause instant death. Prescription medication is another means for obtaining a “legal”, inexpensive high. It has been discovered that Ritalin, for example, can be crushed into a powder and snorted.

Experts say parents are often unaware that young children are experimenting with under the counter drugs.