A COUPLE of months ago, Public Safety Commissioner Edward Camacho expressed concern about the alarming butane abuse incidents involving juveniles on Saipan. Honestly, at first I thought Camacho was just exaggerating a little bit. But the commissioner was right. Since Camacho sounded the alarm, almost every week there have been minors caught sniffing butane. I have been writing about crimes for almost a decade now on the island, and this is the first time that I noticed that, indeed, the abuse has started to become an epidemic. It is hard to control such abuse considering that inhalants are cheap and can be purchased legally from retail stores without even facing drug procurement obstacles.
I believe there are three major categories of inhalants—volatile solvents, nitrites and anesthetics. Butane and gasoline fall under the volatile solvent category. These inhalants, however, are not considered among the high-risk categories such as “ice,” alcohol, cocaine, marijuana and heroin.
Many years ago, there was a child who died on the island as a result of inhaling butane. Actually, the first time I heard about butane abuse was from then Addiction Specialist Joseph Kevin Villagomez. It was seven to eight years ago when Villagomez expressed alarm over the increasing inhalant abuse among kids on the island. Villagomez, who subsequently became public health secretary in the Teno administration, disclosed that several children, ages 12 to 16, came to his office for inhalant abuse treatment. Villagomez said the most commonly used substance among kids were butane and gasoline. He said some people tended to view the inhalant as a kind of childish fad to be equated with youthful experiments with cigarettes. But according to Villagomez, inhaling the volatile solvents can cause severe damage to the brain and nervous system. He explained that by starving the body of oxygen or forcing the heart to beat more rapidly and erratically, inhalants can kill users. Volatile solvents produce a quick form of intoxication—excitation, followed by drowsiness, staggering, lightheadedness and agitation. Because many inhalant products contain more than one volatile solvent, it is difficult to clearly identify in humans the specific chemical responsible for subsequent brain or nerve damage or even death. Villagomez said a young person may become violent and aggressive as a result of sniffing inhalants and that temporary psychotic-like reactions can lead to acts such as attempting to fly or physically trying to stop a rain. Reactions, however, vary according to the solvent inhaled and the person’s physical and emotional state, Villagomez said.
It is good to hear that Camacho and Sen. Ricardo S. Atalig are currently coordinating to push for a “stronger” law to address the butane abuse problem. But parents should also play an active role in preventing this menace to get worse. It was recently reported that a mother even asked the police to arrest her son for sniffing butane in order for him to learn and rehabilitate. That mother, at least, deserves praises for having the courage to do so. It tells us what kind of a parent you are if you don’t know that at a very young age, your kids are already into drug abuse. Parents should act now before it is too late. In the early 1990s when the “ice” problem was really, really bad, we witnessed several drug-free awareness activities on the streets and at schools. Maybe it is time to act again. Let’s not wait until we see kids trying to fly from rooftops.
During a jury trial, a victim testified that the defendant struck him with a machete. The lawyer asked the victim what the machete looked like. The victim quickly answered: “Well, the machete looks like a machete!”
