April 27, 2007
Warning: Latest High For Kids..."Dusting"
The story below came to me in a chain email and I decided to post it verbatim.
Latest Drug in Middle School - Dusting
'Dusting'
"First, I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name
is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for
it's crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2
in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor.
He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old
because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still
train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was
no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He! would tell
on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.
I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at
least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't.
I like building computers occasionally and started bu ilding a new one
in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers.
They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I
bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow
dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they
were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used
them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for
wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.
On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3
pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off.
I went home and set it dow! n beside my com puter.
On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife
went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went
downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was
propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leanin g over. She
called to him a few times t! o get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes
tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to
get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and
had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new
can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.
I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse
and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after
the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his
system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midn ight and 1 AM.
I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9
through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take
off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10
seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us
showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best
friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed
air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said so.
Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air .. It also contains a
propellant called R2. It's a refrigeran t like what is used in your
refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it,
it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out That's why
you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your
heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU.
The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level
that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go
randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you
die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE . It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or
not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're
breathing it in. If not you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit."
That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes
were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't
believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it
doe sn't fit here. And that's why its more accepted. There is no chemical
reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle
complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It! probably
did. T he propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known.
It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want . But it isn't.
Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's
life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The
pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I
cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I
don't really care. My kids a! re messed up. One won't talk about it. The
other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even
describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of
Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our
kids about them.
Afte r Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the
school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a
student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another
student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school
system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there.
They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than
tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they fou nd, they hid
it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the
school, then admitted to it I know that if they would have told the media
and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my h! ouse.
We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using
Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't
talked
about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2 nd
was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th
birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sittin g on the living room
couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I
know Kyle is in heaven but I can ' t help but wonder If I died and went to
Hell."
Latest Drug in Middle School - Dusting
'Dusting'
"First, I'm going to tell you a little about me and my family. My name
is Jeff. I am a Police Officer for a city which is known nationwide for
it's crime rate. We have a lot of gangs and drugs. At one point we were # 2
in the nation in homicides per capita. I also have a police K-9 named Thor.
He was certified in drugs and general duty. He retired at 3 years old
because he was shot in the line of duty. He lives with us now and I still
train with him because he likes it. I always liked the fact that there was
no way to bring drugs into my house. Thor wouldn't allow it. He! would tell
on you. The reason I say this is so you understand that I know about drugs.
I have taught in schools about drugs. My wife asks all our kids at
least once a week if they used any drugs. Makes them promise they won't.
I like building computers occasionally and started bu ilding a new one
in February 2005. I also was working on some of my older computers.
They were full of dust so on one of my trips to the computer store I
bought a 3 pack of DUST OFF. Dust Off is a can of compressed air to blow
dust off a computer. A few weeks later when I went to use one of them they
were all used. I talked to my kids and my two sons both said they had used
them on their computer and messing around with them. I yelled at them for
wasting the 10 dollars I paid for them.
On February 28 I went back to the computer store. They didn't have the 3
pack which I had bought on sale so I bought a single jumbo can of Dust Off.
I went home and set it dow! n beside my com puter.
On March 1st, I left for work at 10 PM. Just before midnight my wife
went down and kissed Kyle goodnight. At 5:30 am the next morning Kathy went
downstairs to wake Kyle up for school, before she left for work. He was
propped up in bed with his legs crossed and his head leanin g over. She
called to him a few times t! o get up. He didn't move. He would sometimes
tease her like this and pretend he fell back asleep. He was never easy to
get up. She went in and shook his arm. He fell over. He was pale white and
had the straw from the Dust Off can coming out of his mouth. He had the new
can of Dust Off in his hands. Kyle was dead.
I am a police officer and I had never heard of this. My wife is a nurse
and she had never heard of this. We later found out from the coroner, after
the autopsy, that only the propellant from the can of Dust off was in his
system. No other drugs. Kyle had died between midn ight and 1 AM.
I found out that using Dust Off is being done mostly by kids ages 9
through 15. They even have a name for it. It's called dusting. A take
off from the Dust Off name. It gives them a slight high for about 10
seconds. It makes them dizzy. A boy who lives down the street from us
showed Kyle how to do this about a month before. Kyle showed his best
friend. Told him it was cool and it couldn't hurt you. It's just compressed
air. It can't hurt you. His best friend said so.
Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air .. It also contains a
propellant called R2. It's a refrigeran t like what is used in your
refrigerator. It is a heavy gas. Heavier than air. When you inhale it,
it fills your lungs and keeps the good air, with oxygen, out That's why
you feel dizzy, buzzed. It decreases the oxygen to your brain, to your
heart. Kyle was right. It can't hurt you. IT KILLS YOU.
The horrible part about this is there is no warning. There is no level
that kills you. It's not cumulative or an overdose; it can just go
randomly, terribly wrong. Roll the dice and if your number comes up you
die. IT'S NOT AN OVERDOSE . It's Russian Roulette. You don't die later. Or
not feel good and say I've had too much. You usually die as you're
breathing it in. If not you die within 2 seconds of finishing "the hit."
That's why the straw was still in Kyle's mouth when he died. Why his eyes
were still open. The experts want to call this huffing. The kids don't
believe its huffing. As adults we tend to lump many things together. But it
doe sn't fit here. And that's why its more accepted. There is no chemical
reaction, no strong odor. It doesn't follow the huffing signals. Kyle
complained a few days before he died of his tongue hurting. It! probably
did. T he propellant causes frostbite. If I had only known.
It's easy to say hey, it's my life and I'll do what I want . But it isn't.
Others are always affected. This has forever changed our family's
life. I have a hole in my heart and soul that can never be fixed. The
pain is so immense I can't describe it. There's nowhere to run from it. I
cry all the time and I don't ever cry. I do what I'm supposed to do but I
don't really care. My kids a! re messed up. One won't talk about it. The
other will only sleep in our room at night. And my wife, I can't even
describe how bad she is taking this. I thought we were safe because of
Thor. I thought we were safe because we knew about drugs and talked to our
kids about them.
Afte r Kyle died another story came out. A probation Officer went to the
school system next to ours to speak with a student. While there he found a
student using Dust Off in the bathroom. This student told him about another
student who also had some in his locker. This is a rather affluent school
system. They will tell you they don't have a drug problem there.
They don't even have a dare or plus program there. So rather than
tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they fou nd, they hid
it. The probation officer told the media after Kyle's death and they, the
school, then admitted to it I know that if they would have told the media
and I had heard, it wouldn't have been in my h! ouse.
We need to get this out of our homes and school computer labs. Using
Dust Off isn't new and some "professionals" do know about. It just isn't
talked
about much, except by the kids. They all seem to know about it. April 2 nd
was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th
birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sittin g on the living room
couch at 2:30 in the afternoon and waiting to see him get off the bus. I
know Kyle is in heaven but I can ' t help but wonder If I died and went to
Hell."
