Breathe Deeply

Its strange, I’ve always had this predisposition to consider “sniffers” as a tad more pathetic or dumb than normal drug users.  Maybe its because they get high using household chemicals (which seems a bit of a desperate act to get high, if anything, a childish act) and maybe its because to my understanding, inhalants are more likely to cause long term brain damage.  My stereotype of inhalant users are people sniffing things out of tubes, balloons, bags, and spray cans.  I know its wrong to stereotype, I’m sure there’s exception cases, but for some reason, that’s how I’ve always pictured them.

Inhalants, as defined by National Institute of Health are “Any drug administered by breathing in its vapors.”  This can be anything from nitrous oxide used to calm dentistry patients to breathing pressurized air freshener’s to get high.  The inhalant itself doesn’t always have to be pure.  Sometimes its the result of exposure of a product to air, such as super glue, gasoline, or spray paint.  As long as it comes in a vapor form and has psychoactive effects, it can be classified as an inhalant.

With all drugs though, the type, concentration, and purity of a substance matters.  Same goes with inhalants.  It goes without saying, some are more dangerous – physically and mentally – than others.  The most common and dangerous effect of using inhalants is oxygen deprivation.  Because most of the propellant products don’t come packaged with oxygen, inhaling too many vapors for too long can cause one to black out and possibly suffer brain damage.  I’ve personally read accounts of people huffing from bags and balloons, and once they black out, they end up choking on said bags.  Furthermore, head trauma from falling isn’t very enjoyable either.  Some of the more dangerous inhalants include butane, acetone, benzene, hexane, and toluene.  Amongst these substances, negative effects can include: irregular heartbeat, damage of mucous membranes, cancer, leukemia, nerve damage, muscle atrophy, short term memory loss, hearing loss, and central nervous system deterioration.

Despite all of this, inhalant use is still popular.  Why?  Probably becuase its 1) cheap, 2) safe (not in terms of health, but difficult to be arrested for), and 3) easy to attain.

I have personally been under the effects of nitrous oxide for medicinal and for recreational purposes.  Like most cases of people using NO2, my friends and I picked up a few “whippits” from a local store along with a “cracker” to open the whippits with.  I have to say, although the experience included enjoyable effects from the nitrous, I’m not going to do it again.  After initial inhalation, I was hit with a rush.  This rush was also accompanied by very severe tunnel vision, nearly blacking out, and disorientation.  On a side note, I’m not sure if the full body tingling I experienced was from oxygen deprivation or from the nitrous, but either way, it still felt strange (imagine the sensation of a “sleepy” limb regaining sensation).  After this barrage of effects, I chuckled uncontrollably for about a minute, than began to calm down.  I didn’t have any long lasting effects (save a mild buzzing headache), and overall, the experience lasted maybe 3-5 minutes.  Next up was my friend, who despite our urging to do otherwise, decided to inhale a whippit while standing up.  Not too sure what he felt, but it involved him blacking out for a few seconds.  When he came to, he was pretty disoriented (standard for regaining consciousness) but reported having a short and abrupt dream involving a video game.  After him blacking out, we decided to give up.  All in all, the hassle considerably outweighs the effects and I’ve since thrown away the remaining whippits.

I’m not too keen to try things a second time that nearly cause me to black out, especially if it was unpleasant.

-M.