NationStates Jolt Archive

I just read this and can hardly believe it's true, even though it's been completely verified by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Even when I was 15 and very rebellious, I had enough sense to not want foreign substances in my body. If this sort of thing didn't totally wreck families and competely devastate parents, siblings and friends, I would say, "Go ahead! Kill yourself and take your stupidity out of the gene pool!"

As I've been at pains to point out before, you don't live in a frikkin' vacume! Your family, friends and the rest of us are here too. It is the height of selfishness to take drugs. It is totally irresponsible to take drugs. It is stupid in the extreme to take drugs of ANY sort. If you take drugs, don't talk to me, don't come around me, don't darken my door; I don't want to even be on the same frikkin' PLANET with you! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I support the rights of adults to use any substance they choose, and deal with the consequences.

I can't support kids doing the same. I hope any parents who read this thread take a hint and put aerosol products in a safe place away from their kids.

I just read this and can hardly believe it's true, even though it's been completely verified by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Even when I was 15 and very rebellious, I had enough sense to not want foreign substances in my body. If this sort of thing didn't totally wreck families and competely devastate parents, siblings and friends, I would say, "Go ahead! Kill yourself and take your stupidity out of the gene pool!"

As I've been at pains to point out before, you don't live in a frikkin' vacume! Your family, friends and the rest of us are here too. It is the height of selfishness to take drugs. It is totally irresponsible to take drugs. It is stupid in the extreme to take drugs of ANY sort. If you take drugs, don't talk to me, don't come around me, don't darken my door; I don't want to even be on the same frikkin' PLANET with you! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

It should be noted, however, that apparently Kyle wasn't aware that Dust-Off contained a chemical propellant. He thought he was huffing nothing but compressed air. Maybe that was stupid, but I've made worse mistakes of reasoning in my life.

I support the rights of adults to use any substance they choose, and deal with the consequences.

I can't support kids doing the same. I hope any parents who read this thread take a hint and put aerosol products in a safe place away from their kids.
I don't. Part of being a responsible member of society is not doing things that will harm others, either directly or indirectly, as I tried to point out in the original post.

I am just furious about this!

It should be noted, however, that apparently Kyle wasn't aware that Dust-Off contained a chemical propellant. He thought he was huffing nothing but compressed air. Maybe that was stupid, but I've made worse mistakes of reasoning in my life.
It was stupid beyond redemption, IMHO. If it was "ok" for internal use, it would have been in the friggin' cupboard! Jeeze.

I knew a guy in college who did this. I chose not to hang around him anymore - as I found it rather disturbing.

It was stupid beyond redemption, IMHO. If it was "ok" for internal use, it would have been in the friggin' cupboard! Jeeze.
Well maybe if he knew it was anything more than compressed air he wouldnt have done it. Its just a case of a kid trying something he thought was perfectly safe when it wasnt. Its not stupidity, its just being misinformed.

Meh, if you're stupid enough to do drugs, then you reap the consequences.

Edit after seeing The Nazz's post. I define drugs as any chemical that induces an artificial high, low, or other sensation, which are not specifically proscribed by a doctor for medicinal purposes. Caffeine is the only exception I'd make to this definition, as it's relatively harmless in moderation, whereas every other drug I can think of, isn't (barring the medicinal properties of marijuana).

Just for the sake of clarity in the discussion to come Eutrusca--and please don't take this as an attack of any sort--what would you define as a drug? It seems obvious to me that illegal drugs are included in your definition, but what about alcohol? Nicotine? Caffeine? What about prescription drugs? I'm just looking for a baseline to work with here.

It was stupid beyond redemption, IMHO. If it was "ok" for internal use, it would have been in the friggin' cupboard! Jeeze.

I'm not trying to say that there isn't some measure of foolhardiness going on here to huff anything. I am saying that as far as young guys doing dumb stuff is concerned, I've done far dumber things but I haven't been killed for it. Taking a blast of what you think is compressed air rates about a three on the dumbometer. So I have a hard time getting really worked up about how stupid the kid was. I simply think it was a tragedy.

Oi...this just makes me regret highschool even more. A few of the students in my technology classes throughout highschool (including myself on a few ocassions) would sit in the plastics lab while the machines were running, with the door closed. The fumes released from the machines would give us a buzz that lasted about an hour. Tech class was last period, and we all rode the bus. Translation: it wore off right before we got home, and our parents never knew.

Every group of teenagers is going to do something stupid. Some won't survive it. That just seems to be a fact of life.

Meh. Shit happens.

Look at it this way, you can give kids all the education in the world, the best possible environment in which to grow, and some will still misbehave and die. In engineering terms, they're a system loss, accept it.

In many parts of the world, the water you drink every day is a roulette wheel that can end in death. This case only seems tragic in our societies because all mundane forms of death have been removed. Only the exotic remain. And there is nothing anyone can do about it.

Really, I just shrug and move on. The fact that stories like this attract attention is just a sign of how well we're doing.

it's not just the kids fault. it's the police officers fault too. if the first can disappeared, put it somewhere you're sure it wouldn't. the teen was extremely retarded. i'm 11 years old and know better.

See, this makes me angry, too - it infuriates me that good drugs like marijuana are unavailable in many areas, leading to children experimenting with extraordinarily dangerous substances they know little to nothing about.

Here's still more collateral damage from the dumb old American War on Drugs.



Congratulations, Nancy Reagan, you right-wing old harridan.

Well maybe if he knew it was anything more than compressed air he wouldnt have done it. Its just a case of a kid trying something he thought was perfectly safe when it wasnt. Its not stupidity, its just being misinformed.

How old was this kid?

Seriously, when you spray this stuff on cloth, the cloth freezes. You have to be awfully stupid to think it is safe to spray that into your mouth.

How old was this kid?

Seriously, when you spray this stuff on cloth, the cloth freezes. You have to be awfully stupid to think it is safe to spray that into your mouth.
He was 15. When youre 15 and your mate is doing something that doesnt appear to be harming him (because, after all, they thought it was only compressed air) and he says its good, you do it too so you can see what its like.

Thats what teenagers do. They thought it was harmless because nothing had happened and nobody told them otherwise....they thought it was compressed air. they werent stupid, just misinformed. a little foolish, maybe, but not stupid.

Just for the sake of clarity in the discussion to come Eutrusca--and please don't take this as an attack of any sort--what would you define as a drug? It seems obvious to me that illegal drugs are included in your definition, but what about alcohol? Nicotine? Caffeine? What about prescription drugs? I'm just looking for a baseline to work with here.
Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are all legal; I don't approve of the first three ( although I currently smoke cigarettes ... which I will stop using next month when I begin to work out again ), especially when used to excess. I don't really approve of marijuana, but when used in moderation I don't consider it any worse than smoking cigarettes. Prescription drugs, when used by necessity by the person for whom the prescription was written, are acceptable, although I personally won't take medication unless I'm almost dead from pain.

Most other things, such as heroin, cocaine, etc., are on my hate list.

The guideline is ( or should be ): don't take anything not intended for normal consumption, and even then take only in moderation and only when absolutely necessary. If nature doesn't make it as "food for the body," try to avoid it whenever possible.

How old was this kid?

Seriously, when you spray this stuff on cloth, the cloth freezes. You have to be awfully stupid to think it is safe to spray that into your mouth.


I run a computer repair service, and we have fights with the stuff all the time. Trust me -- one good burn on the ass through your pajama pants, and you'll know that shit's not safe to inhale.

He was 15. When youre 15 and your mate is doing something that doesnt appear to be harming him (because, after all, they thought it was only compressed air) and he says its good, you do it too so you can see what its like.

Thats what teenagers do. They thought it was harmless because nothing had happened and nobody told them otherwise....they thought it was compressed air. they werent stupid, just misinformed. a little foolish, maybe, but not stupid.
I helped raise five. None of them did anything like that. A few tried marijuana, but didn't continue to use it.

EDIT: ( Don't tell them I know that. They would be embarrassed! ) ;)

I can't even get angry. It's just so sad and pointless, the loss of a life and to the family over something so trivial - attempting to get a buzz.

I don't. Part of being a responsible member of society is not doing things that will harm others, either directly or indirectly, as I tried to point out in the original post.

I am just furious about this!

So no one is ever allowed to break up with a girlfriend, say mean things about other people, or change their religion because other people might be upset by those things?

It is selfish in the extreme to think that other people's existence is strictly for the purpose of serving you. If my loved ones want to undertake dangerous activities that I disapprove of, I may caution them against it, but I have no right to stop them and it would be extremly childish of me to cut off contact with someone just because they might die someday. That would be my issue to deal with, and it would be irresponsible of me to put it on them.

Note, this applies only to other adults, not children whom one has a duty to protect, even from themselves.

How old was this kid?

Seriously, when you spray this stuff on cloth, the cloth freezes. You have to be awfully stupid to think it is safe to spray that into your mouth.
God I love doing that :D

I helped raise five. None of them did anything like that. A few tried marijuana, but didn't continue to use it.
Well, I would say smoking marijuana (which i have done quite a bit) is worse than inhaling what you think is compressed air, but thats another thing.

So no one is ever allowed to break up with a girlfriend, say mean things about other people, or change their religion because other people might be upset by those things?

It is selfish in the extreme to think that other people's existence is strictly for the purpose of serving you. If my loved ones want to undertake dangerous activities that I disapprove of, I may caution them against it, but I have no right to stop them and it would be extremly childish of me to cut off contact with someone just because they might die someday. That would be my issue to deal with, and it would be irresponsible of me to put it on them.

Note, this applies only to other adults, not children whom one has a duty to protect, even from themselves.
There's a vast difference between doing things of which others may disapprove and doing things which will harm them or hurt them deeply.

There's a vast difference between doing things of which others may disapprove and doing things which will harm them or hurt them deeply.
To be fair, I dont think youve got the point that these kids thought it wouldnt harm or hurt them at all.

Alcohol, nicotine and caffeine are all legal; I don't approve of the first three ( although I currently smoke cigarettes ... which I will stop using next month when I begin to work out again ), especially when used to excess. I don't really approve of marijuana, but when used in moderation I don't consider it any worse than smoking cigarettes. Prescription drugs, when used by necessity by the person for whom the prescription was written, are acceptable, although I personally won't take medication unless I'm almost dead from pain.

Most other things, such as heroin, cocaine, etc., are on my hate list.

The guideline is ( or should be ): don't take anything not intended for normal consumption, and even then take only in moderation and only when absolutely necessary. If nature doesn't make it as "food for the body," try to avoid it whenever possible.
I think that's a reasonable definition--I was wondering because of your statement in the opening post that "if you do drugs, then stay away" or something to that effect, and I wanted to know where we were coming from.

And I feel the same way about the drugs you mentioned. I used to smoke and still do on rare occasions, I like to drink responsibly and I'm unbearable without caffeine, and I've ventured into the illegal realm a couple of times with mixed responses--no need for grisly details.

But I've stayed away from a lot of stuff, not from prudery, but because some of those drugs just scare the hell out of me, and I don't scare easily. Meth, cocaine, heroin, most of the prescription painkillers--no thanks. I had my wisdom teeth out a few months ago and had a prescription for Vicodin--I took one and then gutted it out on ibuprofen the rest of the time.

I used to be one of those "do what you want to your body" people, but I've retreated from that a bit. I got to know a meth addict once--when she was coming down and getting into rehab--and the damage I saw showed me that for some of these drugs, there is no safe way to use them, and that being around users is also harmful, even if you're not using.

I can't even get angry. It's just so sad and pointless, the loss of a life and to the family over something so trivial - attempting to get a buzz.
I once threatened to kill a guy who tried to get one of my daughters to take drugs. I would have too, and not have given it a second thought. And he knew I meant it and had the means to do it. It's no exaggeration at all that I would gladly kill any drug dealer I ever encountered ... and I know lots of others who feel the same way.

In a case like this, had one of my sons been stupid enough to try it, I would have whupped him good. I would much rather one of my kids hate me than lose him to something so pointless. I don't really know what I would have done with one of my daughters ... perhaps lock her in her room? Heh!

You know what? We need more parks, and not jsut any parks, we need like PALYGROUND parks, and all of them should have a merry-go-round thats about 6 feet or less in diameter. You want to be a dumbass and do shit like huffing cans of air? Go to the dman playground and spin your ass around on one of those for a minute or two, then sit on your ass and rethink

I think that's a reasonable definition--I was wondering because of your statement in the opening post that "if you do drugs, then stay away" or something to that effect, and I wanted to know where we were coming from.

And I feel the same way about the drugs you mentioned. I used to smoke and still do on rare occasions, I like to drink responsibly and I'm unbearable without caffeine, and I've ventured into the illegal realm a couple of times with mixed responses--no need for grisly details.

But I've stayed away from a lot of stuff, not from prudery, but because some of those drugs just scare the hell out of me, and I don't scare easily. Meth, cocaine, heroin, most of the prescription painkillers--no thanks. I had my wisdom teeth out a few months ago and had a prescription for Vicodin--I took one and then gutted it out on ibuprofen the rest of the time.

I used to be one of those "do what you want to your body" people, but I've retreated from that a bit. I got to know a meth addict once--when she was coming down and getting into rehab--and the damage I saw showed me that for some of these drugs, there is no safe way to use them, and that being around users is also harmful, even if you're not using.
You sound at least reasonably bright and responsible. The really unfortunate thing is that there are so many ways that young people can kill themselves by simply trying something which seems exciting or "forbidden."

This entire topic depresses and angers me, as you may have gathered.

There's a vast difference between doing things of which others may disapprove and doing things which will harm them or hurt them deeply.

No there isn't, when the thing that you say will hurt them is a loved one's self destructive behavior.

You don't have the right to claim that other people have to take care of themselves, or even not commit suicide, just because it will inconvenience you if they're gone. You're a conservative right? Isn't that all about personal responsibility? You're responsible for your own feelings. What other people do to themselves is not your province to control.

It is also a social issue, in some Northern communities gasoline sniffing is a major problem, when asked why they do it the children just stated that they had nothing better to do. As for getting high of drugs you can get high off anything. In fact it is possible to get high off water or milk by drinking sufficient quantities in a short period of time.

I got a can of that stuff ... has a big red warning on the side expressing the fatal nature of inhaling it. I even had to show ID when purchasing it.

The way I see it, it's a matter of some kid believing themselves to be invincible. The warnings apparently didn't apply to him. *shrug*

Darwin is smiling.

I personally thing marijawana is one of the tamest things out there, inclusung alcohal and ciggerattes, and is generally, in my experience, something you grow out of.

Pretty much anything else, chemicals you know fuck with you, stuff like cleaning supplies, acid, heroine, nicotine, all that shit, I find rediculus to even concider.

Also, I include caffine in with a mind altering chemical. It's more addictive that pot (scientificly, chemically), and in my opinion and experience, has worse short-term and long term health effects. That's why I don't mess with that stuff.

I once threatened to kill a guy who tried to get one of my daughters to take drugs. I would have too, and not have given it a second thought. And he knew I meant it and had the means to do it. It's no exaggeration at all that I would gladly kill any drug dealer I ever encountered ... and I know lots of others who feel the same way.

In a case like this, had one of my sons been stupid enough to try it, I would have whupped him good. I would much rather one of my kids hate me than lose him to something so pointless. I don't really know what I would have done with one of my daughters ... perhaps lock her in her room? Heh!

I agree with you Eutrusca. I'd do the same thing with my kids (if and when, of course :p ). Drug dealers are nothing more than parasites that ruin peoples' lives for profit. They prey on those who are either naive or desparate, and will totally destroy families and lives. I'd gladly kill them if only to stop their destruction.

Well, I know the solution for the daughter: Solitairy confinement. Cut off all contact with friends and don't let her out for a while, like a week.

Ihatevacations']You know what? We need more parks, and not jsut any parks, we need like PALYGROUND parks, and all of them should have a merry-go-round thats about 6 feet or less in diameter. You want to be a dumbass and do shit like huffing cans of air? Go to the dman playground and spin your ass around on one of those for a minute or two, then sit on your ass and rethink
LOL! GOOD THINKING! :D

I suppose that one reason I've never been seriously tempted to try drugs ( yes, I tried marijuana ... did absolutely nothing for me ), is that I've always been "high" on life. I want to get high and escape? Backpacking, sitting out under the stars, white-water rafting ( GOD, I love that! ), cycling, long-distance running ( which is a GREAT high! ), playing with children ( who are almost all high on life! ), loving on an old dog, making love to a beautiful woman ... there must be a million ways to get a non-drug "high!" :)

Also, I include caffine in with a mind altering chemical. It's more addictive that pot (scientificly, chemically), and in my opinion and experience, has worse short-term and long term health effects. That's why I don't mess with that stuff.
Which is why I allow myself two cups first thing in the morning, and that's it. :)

I agree with you Eutrusca. I'd do the same thing with my kids (if and when, of course :p ). Drug dealers are nothing more than parasites that ruin peoples' lives for profit. They prey on those who are either naive or desparate, and will totally destroy families and lives. I'd gladly kill them if only to stop their destruction.

Well, I know the solution for the daughter: Solitairy confinement. Cut off all contact with friends and don't let her out for a while, like a week.
LOL! I actually had to do that once with my oldest. She was very, very headstrong and would do things just because she knew I didn't approve. Once she did something ( which I won't elaborate on here ) she knew neither her mother nor I would approve of. We both talked with her and explained why that was not acceptable behavior. She promptly did it again, so we grounded her completely for an entire week .... no friends, no television, no nothing! She always listened very carefully after that. :D

I got a can of that stuff ... has a big red warning on the side expressing the fatal nature of inhaling it. I even had to show ID when purchasing it.

The way I see it, it's a matter of some kid believing themselves to be invincible. The warnings apparently didn't apply to him. *shrug*

Darwin is smiling.
Hi, K! :)

Yes, it's often very difficult for young people to realize the fact of their own mortality, which is one reason most soldiers are 19 or younger ( although this may no longer be the case with the US military ).

For some reason, even when I was very young, I use to lay awake nights listening to my heart beat, scaring the crap out of myself with the realization that someday it would stop.

You sound at least reasonably bright and responsible. The really unfortunate thing is that there are so many ways that young people can kill themselves by simply trying something which seems exciting or "forbidden."

This entire topic depresses and angers me, as you may have gathered.
It's the parenthood thing, I think. My daughter will be fifteen in a month or so, and I worry about that kind of stuff as well. One way I try to beat the taboo trap is by being up front and by letting her experience some stuff in my presence. I'm not talking about marijuana--some things you have to wait for college to do--but I let her drink alcohol in my presence. She's getting a feeling for what it does to her, and we talk about it the next day, talk about how her judgment was impaired, etc, in a very casual way, and as a result, she understands the dangers she faces from usage of alcohol, and is less tempted to try it with her dumbass friends.

I don't. Part of being a responsible member of society is not doing things that will harm others, either directly or indirectly, as I tried to point out in the original post.

I am just furious about this!

Directly harming others, sure, I can agree there. But not being allowed to indirectly harm others essentially means one can never take any action which could result in harm. I mean, I agree entirely that it's the right thing to do, but despite that (Despite the harm alcohol has caused in my own past) I would never proscribe it. But then, I'm libertarian, if I gave any weight to the concept of society I'd think differently I wager :p

Still, let's not be TOO harsh on this kid. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do, but not many people are going to think compressed air will kill them, and a that's what these kids thought it was, well.

But I do agree with "I suppose that one reason I've never been seriously tempted to try drugs ( yes, I tried marijuana ... did absolutely nothing for me ), is that I've always been "high" on life. I want to get high and escape? Backpacking, sitting out under the stars, white-water rafting ( GOD, I love that! ), cycling, long-distance running ( which is a GREAT high! ), playing with children ( who are almost all high on life! ), loving on an old dog, making love to a beautiful woman ... there must be a million ways to get a non-drug "high!"" entirely! I don't have any interest in anything more than the caffeine in my soda (Mainly because I like soda, I'll add.), because I don't want my life to be seen by anything except me. If I need drugs to feel good I've got issues which drugs won't fix. If I'm already doing good, I don't need anything to boost that.

Though making love to a beautiful dog isn't one I've acheived yet =(

It's the parenthood thing, I think. My daughter will be fifteen in a month or so, and I worry about that kind of stuff as well. One way I try to beat the taboo trap is by being up front and by letting her experience some stuff in my presence. I'm not talking about marijuana--some things you have to wait for college to do--but I let her drink alcohol in my presence. She's getting a feeling for what it does to her, and we talk about it the next day, talk about how her judgment was impaired, etc, in a very casual way, and as a result, she understands the dangers she faces from usage of alcohol, and is less tempted to try it with her dumbass friends.

That is a good idea, promote responsible social drinking as opposed to binge drinking.

It's the parenthood thing, I think. My daughter will be fifteen in a month or so, and I worry about that kind of stuff as well. One way I try to beat the taboo trap is by being up front and by letting her experience some stuff in my presence. I'm not talking about marijuana--some things you have to wait for college to do--but I let her drink alcohol in my presence. She's getting a feeling for what it does to her, and we talk about it the next day, talk about how her judgment was impaired, etc, in a very casual way, and as a result, she understands the dangers she faces from usage of alcohol, and is less tempted to try it with her dumbass friends.
Good for you! Excellent! That's a great way to get the point across. My hat's off to you, sir! :)

Good for you! Excellent! That's a great way to get the point across. My hat's off to you, sir! :)
It's called "learning from your teenage hangovers." I just thought about the stupid shit I did when I was sneaking around and tried to come up with a way to keep her from doing the same. Might work, might not. It has so far.

By the way, I complimented you in the Rove=National Hero? thread. At least, I think of it as a compliment. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

Directly harming others, sure, I can agree there. But not being allowed to indirectly harm others essentially means one can never take any action which could result in harm. I mean, I agree entirely that it's the right thing to do, but despite that (Despite the harm alcohol has caused in my own past) I would never proscribe it. But then, I'm libertarian, if I gave any weight to the concept of society I'd think differently I wager :p

Still, let's not be TOO harsh on this kid. Yeah, it was a stupid thing to do, but not many people are going to think compressed air will kill them, and a that's what these kids thought it was, well.

But I do agree with "I suppose that one reason I've never been seriously tempted to try drugs ( yes, I tried marijuana ... did absolutely nothing for me ), is that I've always been "high" on life. I want to get high and escape? Backpacking, sitting out under the stars, white-water rafting ( GOD, I love that! ), cycling, long-distance running ( which is a GREAT high! ), playing with children ( who are almost all high on life! ), loving on an old dog, making love to a beautiful woman ... there must be a million ways to get a non-drug "high!"" entirely! I don't have any interest in anything more than the caffeine in my soda (Mainly because I like soda, I'll add.), because I don't want my life to be seen by anything except me. If I need drugs to feel good I've got issues which drugs won't fix. If I'm already doing good, I don't need anything to boost that.

Though making love to a beautiful dog isn't one I've acheived yet =(
Stop that! You know what I meant! LOL! :p

I once heard it put like this:

"Drugs are a trap, man. You go to the refrigerator to get something to eat and see that it's empty, so you figure 'Well, guess I'll get high.' So you get high and you stay high for awhile, and when you come down you find that someone's stolen your fridge! Drugs just keep you from realizing that things are getting worse and worse. Drugs are a trap!"

It's called "learning from your teenage hangovers." I just thought about the stupid shit I did when I was sneaking around and tried to come up with a way to keep her from doing the same. Might work, might not. It has so far.
It almost always does. Teaching your kids to think, or even just giving them permission to think, will be one of the best things you could ever do.

He was 15. When youre 15 and your mate is doing something that doesnt appear to be harming him (because, after all, they thought it was only compressed air) and he says its good, you do it too so you can see what its like.

Actually, when I was 15 and someone told me that something wouldn't harm me and it was good, I usually did a little more than go "Ok," and try it. I certainly didn't inhale or spray things at myself that didn't seem intended for the purpose.

All 15 year olds are idiots, nor do all of them do something just because someone else says. If you read the link, you would know that this kid tried to get one of his friends to join in - and that kid was smart enough to walk away.

Thats what teenagers do. They thought it was harmless because nothing had happened and nobody told them otherwise....they thought it was compressed air. they werent stupid, just misinformed. a little foolish, maybe, but not stupid.

You seem to think it makes any sense at all to think that "just compressed air" won't hurt you. If the kid was 3 and an adult tried to get him to try it, that would fly. A 15 year old, these days, when any one of these kids could have looked at the ingredients and looked them up online? No, that isn't going to fly. If they were misinformed, it is because they wanted to be.

Actually, when I was 15 and someone told me that something wouldn't harm me and it was good, I usually did a little more than go "Ok," and try it. I certainly didn't inhale or spray things at myself that didn't seem intended for the purpose.
just because you or I wouldnt have done it doesnt mean that there arent many 15 year olds out there who would, thinking that it was compressed air.



You seem to think it makes any sense at all to think that "just compressed air" won't hurt you. If the kid was 3 and an adult tried to get him to try it, that would fly. A 15 year old, these days, when any one of these kids could have looked at the ingredients and looked them up online? No, that isn't going to fly. If they were misinformed, it is because they wanted to be.
they were misinformed because they were misinformed. I certainly dont go around checking up on the ingredients of everything i eat or drink

Ach do you know what, fuck it. Ive already made my feelings perfectly clear.

Well maybe if he knew it was anything more than compressed air he wouldnt have done it. Its just a case of a kid trying something he thought was perfectly safe when it wasnt. Its not stupidity, its just being misinformed.and it's reasoning like this that you have such stupid warnings like...

"For external use only!" -- On a curling iron.
"Warning: This product can burn eyes." -- On a curling iron.
"Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking." -- On a toilet at a public sports facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"Caution: Do not spray in eyes." -- On a container of underarm deodorant.
"Eating rocks may lead to broken teeth." -- On a novelty rock garden set called "Popcorn Rock."
"Caution: Hot beverages are hot!" -- On a coffee cup.
"Do not use for drying pets." -- In the manual for a microwave oven.
"For use on animals only." -- On an electric cattle prod.
"Do not use as ear plugs." -- On a package of silly putty.
"Cannot be made non-poisonous." -- On the back of a can of de-icing windshield fluid.
"Do not iron clothes on body." -- On packaging for a Rowenta iron.
"Not for human consumption." -- On a package of dice.

Wise man say... "common sense isn't common."

and it's reasoning like this that you have such stupid warnings like...

"For external use only!" -- On a curling iron.
"Warning: This product can burn eyes." -- On a curling iron.
"Recycled flush water unsafe for drinking." -- On a toilet at a public sports facility in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
"Caution: Do not spray in eyes." -- On a container of underarm deodorant.
"Eating rocks may lead to broken teeth." -- On a novelty rock garden set called "Popcorn Rock."
"Caution: Hot beverages are hot!" -- On a coffee cup.
"Do not use for drying pets." -- In the manual for a microwave oven.
"For use on animals only." -- On an electric cattle prod.
"Do not use as ear plugs." -- On a package of silly putty.
"Cannot be made non-poisonous." -- On the back of a can of de-icing windshield fluid.
"Do not iron clothes on body." -- On packaging for a Rowenta iron.
"Not for human consumption." -- On a package of dice.

Wise man say... "common sense isn't common."
which would all be different situations to inhaling compressed air (which turned out not to be compressed air, but he didnt know that...)

just because you or I wouldnt have done it doesnt mean that there arent many 15 year olds out there who would, thinking that it was compressed air.

they were misinformed because they were misinformed. I certainly dont go around checking up on the ingredients of everything i eat or drink

Ach do you know what, fuck it. Ive already made my feelings perfectly clear.I can see your point. Nadkor, but what they are saying is equally relavent.

a College student goes out and emulates what he sees in a move and dies, who's responsible... the "bright and smart" student who lays down in the middle of the street or the movie makers who made the film showing Frat initiates laying down in the street?

and while you don't check on the ingrediants on your food, would you eat any fruit like/looking object you pick off a plant without checking to see if its poisonous first?

do not forget the 5 warnings on ladders. Right now the warning labels are getting so big and stupid, no one bothers to read them anymore.

My personal favorites:

Warning: Keep out of Children (on a package of knives)
For indoor or outdoor use only (on christmas tree lights)

just because you or I wouldnt have done it doesnt mean that there arent many 15 year olds out there who would, thinking that it was compressed air.

And those 15 year olds are idiots. There are stupid people in the world. When their stupidity gets them killed it is sad, but there is no reason not to point it out for what it is - stupidity.

they were misinformed because they were misinformed. I certainly dont go around checking up on the ingredients of everything i eat or drink

That would make sense, if we were talking about a twinkie or gatorade. However, we are not talking about food or drink. We are talking about something quite clearly NOT made for ingestion that these kids chose to inhale. Do you make a habit of, for instance, drinking carpet cleaner? If someone told you carpet cleaner was safe to drink, would you not check for yourself before drinking it?

which would all be different situations to inhaling compressed air (which turned out not to be compressed air, but he didnt know that...)

Actually, it is compressed air, with a few additional chemicals. I'm fairly certain they are printed on the side of the can, along with the warning that it is not for human consumption.

For some reason, even when I was very young, I use to lay awake nights listening to my heart beat, scaring the crap out of myself with the realization that someday it would stop.

I do the exact some fucking thing. The worst terror I've ever felt, when you contemplate your own mortality.

I can see your point. Nadkor, but what they are saying is equally relavent.

a College student goes out and emulates what he sees in a move and dies, who's responsible... the "bright and smart" student who lays down in the middle of the street or the movie makers who made the film showing Frat initiates laying down in the street?
but thats a different situation.

copying something dangerous from a movie is entirely different to inhaling what you believe to be compressed air because it might give you a short high

and while you don't check on the ingrediants on your food, would you eat any fruit like/looking object you pick off a plant without checking to see if its poisonous first?
nope, that would be stupid. And the kid didnt do that with this Dust Off stuff....he was told it was safe, so he went and used it

I really cant stress enough that the kid wasnt doing something he knew was dangerous, or that he hadnt found out if it was dangerous or not. He believed it was safe, he had probably been told by others who had tried it that it was safe. If theyd tried it and they didnt have any bad effects then he would have believed it was perfectly safe.

If you do something that others who have done it have said is safe and you die, are you stupid or misinformed?

foolish, maybe, but not stupid....most definitely misinformed.

That would make sense, if we were talking about a twinkie or gatorade. However, we are not talking about food or drink. We are talking about something quite clearly NOT made for ingestion that these kids chose to inhale. Do you make a habit of, for instance, drinking carpet cleaner? If someone told you carpet cleaner was safe to drink, would you not check for yourself before drinking it?

Generally a fair point. However it would depend on what I believed carpet cleaner to consist of. Chemicals? Sure, I'll check it out before I drink it. But what if I believe it to be the same stuff you make Mellow Yellow out of? (Ok, it'd STILL be poison, but you get my point :p)

It almost always does. Teaching your kids to think, or even just giving them permission to think, will be one of the best things you could ever do.

Always said that if there's only one thing I could teach my (Hypoethetical xD) kids, it'd be to think for themselves.

which would all be different situations to inhaling compressed air (which turned out not to be compressed air, but he didnt know that...)So you're saying that the child, who was taught about substance abuse, decided to follow some friends who were getting "High" but since it's not "Drugs" felt that it was ok, is not stupid nor guilty.

Then why did he lie to his father when asked what happened to the other cans of Dust off? Did the can say for removing dust and achieving a safe "high"?

I'm sure the child who used Silly Putty as ear plugs felt the same way... like the person drinking recycled flush water, or using the curling iron in an non external use (I can only imagine...) it was all probably harmless fun, and it normally is until someone gets hurt and usually its when the item is used in a fashion it was not meant to be used.

but thats a different situation.

copying something dangerous from a movie is entirely different to inhaling what you believe to be compressed air because it might give you a short high

No, it isn't.

First off, anyone with half a brain knows that most things that get you high cause damage - THAT'S HOW IT GETS YOU HIGH.

Second, it is exactly the same. You see something in a movie and it doesn't look dangerous - so you run out and do it.

I really cant stress enough that the kid wasnt doing something he knew was dangerous, or that he hadnt found out if it was dangerous or not. He believed it was safe, he had probably been told by others who had tried it that it was safe. If theyd tried it and they didnt have any bad effects then he would have believed it was perfectly safe.

I've known people who inhaled paint. I've known people who have tried heroin. I've known people who've tried cocaine. None of them are dead. That doesn't mean I automatically think it is perfectly safe. Especially not when it has a warning to the contrary on the side of the bottle.

If you do something that others who have done it have said is safe and you die, are you stupid or misinformed?

If you don't check it out for yourself? Stupid. Last I heard, you shouldn't automatically believe anything you hear...

It's the parenthood thing, I think. My daughter will be fifteen in a month or so, and I worry about that kind of stuff as well. One way I try to beat the taboo trap is by being up front and by letting her experience some stuff in my presence. I'm not talking about marijuana--some things you have to wait for college to do--but I let her drink alcohol in my presence. She's getting a feeling for what it does to her, and we talk about it the next day, talk about how her judgment was impaired, etc, in a very casual way, and as a result, she understands the dangers she faces from usage of alcohol, and is less tempted to try it with her dumbass friends.
interesting theory nazz, 2 things to keep in mind

1) peer pressure to do stupid things exists no matter how much your daughter already understands alcohol. it might even give her the impression that you are "soft on drugs" (but of course that depends on how you go about it)

2) teens will cross the line. there IS no reasonable line that wont be crossed. it is the teens job to cross the line no matter where it is drawn. and they do. if the rule is "everything is fine as long as no one dies" someone is going to die.

make sure your daughter understands that "things that can kill you" can kill HER. (it was a discussion on the radio this morning that kids dont realize that they can really die if they do stuff that can kill you)

know where she is, who she is with, and limit the time that she and her friends spend together without adults around. adults in bed while kids party in the basement isnt supervision. remember that most kids do their stupidest things in the hours between school getting out and parents getting home. make sure she is busy then.

im 48, my parents let me and my 6 siblings drink a little before we were of age. not enough to even get a buzz but it wasnt the big taboo. it seems to me that today kids are being encouraged to use alcohol like an illegal drug--get as high as possible as fast as possible. what a very dangerous thing it is.

Generally a fair point. However it would depend on what I believed carpet cleaner to consist of. Chemicals? Sure, I'll check it out before I drink it. But what if I believe it to be the same stuff you make Mellow Yellow out of? (Ok, it'd STILL be poison, but you get my point :p)

Well, to be a proper analogy, someone would have to tell you that carpet cleaner was made out of mellow yellow. Would you automatically believe them?

know where she is, who she is with, and limit the time that she and her friends spend together without adults around. adults in bed while kids party in the basement isnt supervision. remember that most kids do their stupidest things in the hours between school getting out and parents getting home. make sure she is busy then.

Know her friends, then you don't need to be all nazi about it. I know when my friends and I hang out, we're all trusted, and rightly so, because I'm the only one of us who's actually done things like that any two minutes will show easily to them that it ain't happening again. Supervision is fine, but you don't wanna be a facist, believe me... 'Course, the best thing is just hoping she has a small circle of friends who you can know personally and stuff :p

but thats a different situation.

copying something dangerous from a movie is entirely different to inhaling what you believe to be compressed air because it might give you a short high


nope, that would be stupid. And the kid didnt do that with this Dust Off stuff....he was told it was safe, so he went and used it

I really cant stress enough that the kid wasnt doing something he knew was dangerous, or that he hadnt found out if it was dangerous or not. He believed it was safe, he had probably been told by others who had tried it that it was safe. If theyd tried it and they didnt have any bad effects then he would have believed it was perfectly safe.

If you do something that others who have done it have said is safe and you die, are you stupid or misinformed?

foolish, maybe, but not stupid....most definitely misinformed.
nope, never mis-informed, for I learned in health class in High School, that dizzyness and lightheadedness are signs of oxygen deprivation of the brain. As the article states, the father does go around and talk about the affects of drugs. and he did inform his children about the affects of taking drugs. so why, when getting a drug-like high, didn't the child talk to his father about it? if he did and the father admits to saying that is was just compressed air (which most likely he would've) then that is being Mis-informed. but if he didn't talk to his father about it, and taken his friend's word. thus it wasn't mis-information but simple peer-pressure.

By the way, I complimented you in the Rove=National Hero? thread. At least, I think of it as a compliment. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.
You mean this? "I've come back to this thread a number of times and probably haven't read each post, but if Eutrusca has come in here, I haven't seen it. He certainly hasn't bee defending Rove the way that Ravenshrike, Myrmidonisia and others have been, and I suspect I know why.

"It's because while Eutrusca may be partisan, he also knows political bullshit when he smells it, and this smells like a feedlot outside a slaughterhouse. Even though I often disagree with him, and vehemently at times, I believe Eutrusca is American first and partisan second."

:D

Thank you. I do try, although I'm just as human as the next person and don't always succeed. I've consciously avoided the Rove thing. For one, I'm no fan of Carl's, and for another I'm waiting for the dust to settle a bit before I open my big mouth about it. :)

Who knows? Perhaps being banned twice has taught me to think long and hard before joining in some of the acrimony. :D

Thank you again.

One time I was dared to spray dust off on my nipple.
So I did it, and my nipple froze.
I wasn't "frost bit", but I had a rash on my nipple for months.

One time I was dared to spray dust off on my nipple.
So I did it, and my nipple froze.
I wasn't "frost bit", but I had a rash on my nipple for months....
...
...
...

sorry, can't get that image out of my brain...

...

...

...

not that I'm trying very hard mind you... :D

So next time you're going to use it to clean the dust out of your computer I hope. Can't get any rashes doing that. It might however make you sneeze.

Know her friends, then you don't need to be all nazi about it. I know when my friends and I hang out, we're all trusted, and rightly so, because I'm the only one of us who's actually done things like that any two minutes will show easily to them that it ain't happening again. Supervision is fine, but you don't wanna be a facist, believe me... 'Course, the best thing is just hoping she has a small circle of friends who you can know personally and stuff :p

knowing your kids friends is important. but parents are amazingly delusional when it comes to their kids. quite often the kid they like the best turns out to be the worst of the lot. their kids lie and steal and get high every day and they have no clue.

so while YOU are a good kid with good friends i bet you know OTHER kids your age, lets suppose its around 15 years old, who have terrible friends and who take turns going over to each others houses after school to raid the liquor cabinet or inhale whatever crap they find in the garage that might get them high. kids who go out every weekend night and get staggeringly drunk.

a parent who doesnt want to find himself picking his daughter up at the hospital in the wee hours of sunday morning makes sure he knows who she is with, where, and if there are adults around to supervise.

You mean this? "I've come back to this thread a number of times and probably haven't read each post, but if Eutrusca has come in here, I haven't seen it. He certainly hasn't bee defending Rove the way that Ravenshrike, Myrmidonisia and others have been, and I suspect I know why.

"It's because while Eutrusca may be partisan, he also knows political bullshit when he smells it, and this smells like a feedlot outside a slaughterhouse. Even though I often disagree with him, and vehemently at times, I believe Eutrusca is American first and partisan second."

:D

Thank you. I do try, although I'm just as human as the next person and don't always succeed. I've consciously avoided the Rove thing. For one, I'm no fan of Carl's, and for another I'm waiting for the dust to settle a bit before I open my big mouth about it. :)

Who knows? Perhaps being banned twice has taught me to think long and hard before joining in some of the acrimony. :D

Thank you again.That's the one, and I was sincere about it. We don't agree on much, but I'll never question your patriotism or love of this country. Some of those others who refuse to get past party talking points, though...

I've taught Grade 8 and I've come to the conclusion that the "action/consequence" connection is not fully developed in the adolescent brain. You can't ask them "What were you thinking!?" because they'll just look at you quizically because looking before one leaps is a foreign and strange concept. I'm sure I was the same way at that age...but one forgets what it's like to be a kid so quickly that it's easy to condemn the youngin's when they do something stupid.

I just read this and can hardly believe it's true, even though it's been completely verified by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Even when I was 15 and very rebellious, I had enough sense to not want foreign substances in my body. If this sort of thing didn't totally wreck families and competely devastate parents, siblings and friends, I would say, "Go ahead! Kill yourself and take your stupidity out of the gene pool!"

As I've been at pains to point out before, you don't live in a frikkin' vacume! Your family, friends and the rest of us are here too. It is the height of selfishness to take drugs. It is totally irresponsible to take drugs. It is stupid in the extreme to take drugs of ANY sort. If you take drugs, don't talk to me, don't come around me, don't darken my door; I don't want to even be on the same frikkin' PLANET with you! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Etrusca, I know you're in your 60's but I'll say the same thing to you as I do to anyone who thinks issues as complex as drug use are as black and white as you paint them: GROW UP!

After all the shit you've been through in your life, do you really honestly beleive any issue could possibly be so simple? Someone dies as result of a SYMPTOM of their problems, and you get mad at them? By what twisted logic do you justify being angry at someone too young to truly comprehend all the implications of their actions for making a mistake, no matter how stupid?

The issue of drug use and abuse isn't nearly so simple as you think it is. Sure, on the surface, its just an issue of someone putting a poison in their system in order to feel good (but if you drink alcohol or even COFFEE you can't fault others for it). The motivations for drug use are many and varied. Drug use isn't a problem for the individual, its a symptom. I should point out that I don't think addiction is a disease, as many people have been brainwashed into accepting. Addiction, like drug use, is a symptom, not a disease. Having an attitude like yours will never help anyone get off of drugs or avoid doing them altogether because you just look at the symptoms and though you ask WHY, fail to listen when someone tries to tell you.

I just read this and can hardly believe it's true, even though it's been completely verified by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Even when I was 15 and very rebellious, I had enough sense to not want foreign substances in my body. If this sort of thing didn't totally wreck families and competely devastate parents, siblings and friends, I would say, "Go ahead! Kill yourself and take your stupidity out of the gene pool!"

As I've been at pains to point out before, you don't live in a frikkin' vacume! Your family, friends and the rest of us are here too. It is the height of selfishness to take drugs. It is totally irresponsible to take drugs. It is stupid in the extreme to take drugs of ANY sort. If you take drugs, don't talk to me, don't come around me, don't darken my door; I don't want to even be on the same frikkin' PLANET with you! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

Well I am of the opinion that a person should be allowed to use recreational drugs should they so choose. I lump it in with abortion as something I might not do, but I respect an individual's right to his own body, and that includes questionable actions regarding said body.

But "Dust Off," is not a recreational drug. It was never intended to be used to get high, which means that human consumption is a bad, bad idea. Even most recreational drugs are not full of chemicals that cause instant death. It is a household cleaning chemical that should NEVER BE SNIFFED OR INGESTED. Sadly there is not much we can do except educate the youth that sniffing or imbibing household chemicals is, along with using crack cocaine, probably the most risky mind-altering activity one can involve oneself in. Also products like that should carry a warning that it contains chemicals that are lethal if sniffed/ingested. I don't care how dumb one's ass is, if there is a label staring you in the face that says Sniff this and Die, that person is probably not going to take a whiff.

do not forget the 5 warnings on ladders. Right now the warning labels are getting so big and stupid, no one bothers to read them anymore.

My personal favorites:

Warning: Keep out of Children (on a package of knives)
For indoor or outdoor use only (on christmas tree lights)

Damn that irresponsible warning label. My uncle got a concussion in an accident that resulted from his attempt to break apart his front door to insert the Christmas lights for in-door use. My family is currently campaigning to have the company change the label to "inside the house or outside the house use only." :)

do not forget the 5 warnings on ladders. Right now the warning labels are getting so big and stupid, no one bothers to read them anymore.

My personal favorites:

Warning: Keep out of Children (on a package of knives)
For indoor or outdoor use only (on christmas tree lights)

Damn that irresponsible warning label. My uncle got a concussion in an accident that resulted from his attempt to break apart his front door to insert the Christmas lights for in-door use. My family is currently campaigning to have the company change the label to "inside the house or outside the house use only." :)

I can only thank heaven that we finally got Planter's to write "may contain nuts" on their packaging.

I don't use drugs. I've had a few prescribed to me by alarmed psychiatrists, but I don't use em. :D

I don't care how dumb one's ass is, if there is a label staring you in the face that says Sniff this and Die, that person is probably not going to take a whiff.
there are people who huff RAID. there are people who find a way to huff DRAINO. there are people who drink battery acid diluted with water.

never underestimate how stupid people can be when they are desperate for a high.

there are people who huff RAID. there are people who find a way to huff DRAINO. there are people who drink battery acid diluted with water.

:eek:

I'm officially scared of humanity.

It should be noted, however, that apparently Kyle wasn't aware that Dust-Off contained a chemical propellant. He thought he was huffing nothing but compressed air. Maybe that was stupid, but I've made worse mistakes of reasoning in my life.

Something to note was that he waited till his parents weren't present. He had an idea it wasn't all above board. I believe, obviously, he didn't understand the range and lethality of possible consequences Unfortunately he paid for the this mistake with his life.

As you have pointed out that you have made worse mistakes in reasoning in your life, so have I. It is very sad and scary to see a young life taken due to a single mistake. :(

Just responding to the guy who starting this thread: surely if my parents do drugs (which they do) then I'm not upsetting anybody by doing the same?

Actually my mother stopped taking hard drugs a while back but my father still does.

Etrusca, I know you're in your 60's but I'll say the same thing to you as I do to anyone who thinks issues as complex as drug use are as black and white as you paint them: GROW UP!

After all the shit you've been through in your life, do you really honestly beleive any issue could possibly be so simple? Someone dies as result of a SYMPTOM of their problems, and you get mad at them? By what twisted logic do you justify being angry at someone too young to truly comprehend all the implications of their actions for making a mistake, no matter how stupid?

The issue of drug use and abuse isn't nearly so simple as you think it is. Sure, on the surface, its just an issue of someone putting a poison in their system in order to feel good (but if you drink alcohol or even COFFEE you can't fault others for it). The motivations for drug use are many and varied. Drug use isn't a problem for the individual, its a symptom. I should point out that I don't think addiction is a disease, as many people have been brainwashed into accepting. Addiction, like drug use, is a symptom, not a disease. Having an attitude like yours will never help anyone get off of drugs or avoid doing them altogether because you just look at the symptoms and though you ask WHY, fail to listen when someone tries to tell you.
I don't think of the drug issue as "simple." I have great sympathy for those addicted to drugs.

On the other hand, I have little or no sympathy for those who, like the boy in the original post, do exceedingly stuipd things like inhaling a freezing, oxygen-displacing product created to dust off computer keyboards for God's sake, simply because his friends told him to do so. That's just stupidity, plain and simple. As I said in the post, if it weren't for the fact that his doing so caused irreparable harm to those who loved him, I would have been happy that he had removed his putative contribution to the gene pool.

And, as for those who abuse drugs, although I have sympathy for those already addicted, I have none for those who see the effects of addiction and still start taking drugs. Again, that's just stupidity, plain and simple.

And comparing heroin, crack and speed to alcohol and caffeen is just specious. Alcohol is not addictive to most people, and an alcohol addiction is often genetically based. Caffeen isn't addictive at all in the sense that you have to have it. Nicotine, however, is a different story. It's well-etablished that a nicotine addiction is at least as strong as cocaine addiction. Yet thousands, perhaps even millions of people have quit smoking.

I well understand that many of those who resort to drug abuse are fleeing from what they consider to be an unacceptable reality. Yet there are millions of people the world over who don't particularly like their reality, yet still attempt to do something about it rather than fleeing into the false sanctuary of drug addiction.

In my own reality, having sufficient courage, strength of character and simple persistence should be more than sufficient to overcome virtually anything, including the urge to dope yourself up. Any other supposed "reasons" for taking dope are nothing more than a smoke-screen.

Just responding to the guy who starting this thread: surely if my parents do drugs (which they do) then I'm not upsetting anybody by doing the same?

Actually my mother stopped taking hard drugs a while back but my father still does.
Even if you don't hurt anyone in particular, what you do still contributes to a general disintegration of the society in which you live. As I've said many times, "No one lives in a vacume."

there are people who huff RAID. there are people who find a way to huff DRAINO. there are people who drink battery acid diluted with water.

never underestimate how stupid people can be when they are desperate for a high.
was it Einstein who said.
"There are only two things that have no bounderies... the Universe and Man's Stupidity... and I'm not too sure of the first one."

knowing your kids friends is important. but parents are amazingly delusional when it comes to their kids. quite often the kid they like the best turns out to be the worst of the lot. their kids lie and steal and get high every day and they have no clue.

so while YOU are a good kid with good friends i bet you know OTHER kids your age, lets suppose its around 15 years old, who have terrible friends and who take turns going over to each others houses after school to raid the liquor cabinet or inhale whatever crap they find in the garage that might get them high. kids who go out every weekend night and get staggeringly drunk.

a parent who doesnt want to find himself picking his daughter up at the hospital in the wee hours of sunday morning makes sure he knows who she is with, where, and if there are adults around to supervise.

Yeah, fair enough there. It offends me when people say 'You can't trust teenagers!' because most of my friends are trustworthy to the point that I'd put my life in their hands. I don't care myself, because I did do some dumb shit when I was that age (15 was a long time ago xD), but I get very defensive about my friends.

:eek:

I'm officially scared of humanity.
Perhaps with good cause. There are still, however, many, many people who work hard, stay clean, and do their best to help make the world a better place.

I get very defensive about my friends.
Which places you in the majority of people your age. When your friends do wrong, the best thing you can do for them is to help them figure out their options and pick the best course of action. Good luck! :)

Even if you don't hurt anyone in particular, what you do still contributes to a general disintegration of the society in which you live. As I've said many times, "No one lives in a vacume."
Agreed... after all, in Kyle's case, he went along with his friends. and even if you do it only at home, it does get out and those that look to you as a role model (and boy you will be surprised how many there can be) will also emulate you... as well as miss you should the worst happen. :(

I've taught Grade 8 and I've come to the conclusion that the "action/consequence" connection is not fully developed in the adolescent brain. You can't ask them "What were you thinking!?" because they'll just look at you quizically because looking before one leaps is a foreign and strange concept. I'm sure I was the same way at that age...but one forgets what it's like to be a kid so quickly that it's easy to condemn the youngin's when they do something stupid.

I did a presentation to an 8th grade class on inhalants. We went over the health consequences including short and long term as well as lethality issues. As I finished the presentation ... The eyes of some of the students were so wide I thought they were going to fall out of their heads. The Q&A session was quite enlightening. These kids had no idea how dangerous inhalants could be from long term brain damage, cancer, to sudden death as portrayed in the article. Virtually clueless.

I did a presentation to an 8th grade class on inhalants. We went over the health consequences including short and long term as well as lethality issues. As I finished the presentation ... The eyes of some of the students were so wide I thought they were going to fall out of their heads. The Q&A session was quite enlightening. These kids had no idea how dangerous inhalants could be from long term brain damage, cancer, to sudden death as portrayed in the article. Virtually clueless.
[ applauds wildly ] GOOD FOR YOU!

I rather suspect you may have saved a life or two that day. Kudos to you!

Thanks :)

Here is a link that gives a brief overview of the dangers

http://www.nida.nih.gov/Infofacts/Inhalants.html

I don't think of the drug issue as "simple." I have great sympathy for those addicted to drugs.

On the other hand, I have little or no sympathy for those who, like the boy in the original post, do exceedingly stuipd things like inhaling a freezing, oxygen-displacing product created to dust off computer keyboards for God's sake, simply because his friends told him to do so. That's just stupidity, plain and simple. As I said in the post, if it weren't for the fact that his doing so caused irreparable harm to those who loved him, I would have been happy that he had removed his putative contribution to the gene pool.

And, as for those who abuse drugs, although I have sympathy for those already addicted, I have none for those who see the effects of addiction and still start taking drugs. Again, that's just stupidity, plain and simple.

And comparing heroin, crack and speed to alcohol and caffeen is just specious. Alcohol is not addictive to most people, and an alcohol addiction is often genetically based. Caffeen isn't addictive at all in the sense that you have to have it. Nicotine, however, is a different story. It's well-etablished that a nicotine addiction is at least as strong as cocaine addiction. Yet thousands, perhaps even millions of people have quit smoking.

I well understand that many of those who resort to drug abuse are fleeing from what they consider to be an unacceptable reality. Yet there are millions of people the world over who don't particularly like their reality, yet still attempt to do something about it rather than fleeing into the false sanctuary of drug addiction.

In my own reality, having sufficient courage, strength of character and simple persistence should be more than sufficient to overcome virtually anything, including the urge to dope yourself up. Any other supposed "reasons" for taking dope are nothing more than a smoke-screen.


Well, I was strung out on Morphine for nearly 6 years straight and I can assure you that when you're down that deep into addiction, it isn't a simple thing to stop doing. No matter how badly the addiction is ruining your life, its grip is to powerful to be defeated by just waking up one day and deciding not to do it. It takes many many tries. The reason I finally got over my addiction is because someone finally diagnosed the problem my addiction was symptom of. After I was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and earnestly took part in treating my mental illness, then, and ONLY then, did it become possible for me to simply stop. I could stop because I finally knew what was motivating my self-medication, and that I could work on it, rather than just tackle the symptoms of it, which are overwhelming and lead to me seeking solace and even a sort of normalacy I'd never been otherwise capable of acheiving. People need some answers to the root cause of the problem before they can effectively move forward and away from the addiction. Even if that addiction is tearing apart their lives, until you give them another answer they can actually work with, the addiction is the only thing they have that even half works.

The fact that Dust-Off isn't a drug and not meant to be used as one doesn't mitigate the fact that it was used as a DRUG by Kyle and others. The intent was to get high, and in a strange thoguh ultimately false way, it did get him high. You could say the same thing about cocaine or heroin or damn near any other drug. The only criteria for a detriming whether or not something is a drug should be if it can be used/abused to effect some kind of high (or low), whether its psycholigical, neurological or just physical. I think Kyles death is very tragic, and should definitely count as a case of drug abuse. The fact the boy sought to get high, despite all the things he had in his favour to not do drugs, means he had some kind of motivation to get high, and that motivation was stronger than the knowledge and love his parents gave him. If it had been mere curiosity and fooling around, he'd never have done used the dust-off so much and never have used so much that night in his effort to chase and keep the pseudo-high the propellants physiological effects gave him.

A

Why does this happen?

Males tend to engage in riskier behaviour. Teenaged boys, in particular, are more likely to do stupid dangerous things, occassionally with fatal consequences, than the rest of the population. This is, as I understand it, one of the reasons why discrepancies between male and female birthrates balance out before adulthood (there are more male than female births, but males die at a faster rate, so the number of adult males and females is about even).

The reasons for this behavior are mostly biological (relating to things like testosterone levels). Getting mad about it isn't going to solve the "problem". In fact, "solving" the problem, if at all possible, would probably have greater negative consequences.

Not reading a big read warning that says that inhaling the product can kill you is one of these stupid things.

Here's the warning label:

http://www.falconsafety.com/assets/falcon/products/FS02006fPowerDusterBack.gif

[ applauds wildly ] GOOD FOR YOU!

I rather suspect you may have saved a life or two that day. Kudos to you!

I second that! :)

I just read this and can hardly believe it's true, even though it's been completely verified by Snopes.com: http://www.snopes.com/toxins/dustoff.asp

Even when I was 15 and very rebellious, I had enough sense to not want foreign substances in my body. If this sort of thing didn't totally wreck families and competely devastate parents, siblings and friends, I would say, "Go ahead! Kill yourself and take your stupidity out of the gene pool!"

As I've been at pains to point out before, you don't live in a frikkin' vacume! Your family, friends and the rest of us are here too. It is the height of selfishness to take drugs. It is totally irresponsible to take drugs. It is stupid in the extreme to take drugs of ANY sort. If you take drugs, don't talk to me, don't come around me, don't darken my door; I don't want to even be on the same frikkin' PLANET with you! :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:


Have you ever drank alcohol? What do you think about people who smoke ciggarettes?

This is news? Christ, the British government as running adverts against solvent abuse back when I was a wee bairn*. Meh, some drugs are great, some are shite. We should at least tax 'em and boost the education and healthcare budgets.

*about twenty years ago. whimper.

...I currently smoke cigarettes ... which I will stop using next month when I begin to work out again...

Why not stop now? You should hate yourself with a passion because you are destroying everything good and pure that you ever had with yrou family and friends. Legal or not - I don't see what legality has to do with it- It's the height of hypocrisy to admonish others for putting substances in their body that are detrimental to their health when you do that very thing.

Why not stop now? You should hate yourself with a passion because you are destroying everything good and pure that you ever had with yrou family and friends. Legal or not - I don't see what legality has to do with it- It's the height of hypocrisy to admonish others for putting substances in their body that are detrimental to their health when you do that very thing.

Hypocracy?

How about self-denial, unwillingness to deal with reality and plain old fear.

Hey dude, how much are those ciggies costing your wallet every year?

Hundreds?
Thousands?

Stop now!