Just legalize marijuana already, Jesus.
Teens once inhaled nitrous oxide from cans of whipped cream, but now many are inhaling compressed air from cans of computer dusting products and the results can be deadly.
The practice is called “dusting.”
It’s also called “stupid”. One could argue that such experiences will happen whether or not we legalize other, more controllable drugs, but I’d have to contend that they’d not only be far less widespread, but also much less desirable as you could get an honest, better buzz from weed than you could from compressed air.
Personally, I’d rather have underage kids trying to get legal weed than I would having to ban everything that can possibly be inhaled or ingested out of fear that a teenager might use it improperly. Kids already drink massive amounts of soda in order to feel the sugar high - is Mountain Dew going to become a prohibited product, not to be sold to teenagers without adult supervision? Do we ban DVD box sets because people might stay up all night watching them?
If we live in a culture of prohibition, all we end up doing is threatening massive retaliatory punishment for experimentation promoted by the selfsame culture. Or, to be more clever about it, we’re constantly telling people not to touch the big shiny things because if they do, they’re go to jail for the next fifteen years…and to do so, we have to lead multi-million dollar ad campaigns to make sure every man, woman and child in the country knows about the big shiny untouchable.
See how that works?
16 Responses to “Give A Kid An Air Can…”
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Give a kid an aircan and he’ll get stoned once, but teach him to grow pot and he can catch a buzz forever…
Are you sure this isn’t a parody?
Then again, it’s entirely plausible that, in places like Houston or Los Angeles, kids who grow up without ever breathing fresh air would treat the canned product as a narcotic.
Whatever happened to the good old days, when the kids would get their kicks by chugging Robitussin?
I don’t understand. Is it a dessert topping or a floor wax? IT’S BOTH!
umm I don’t know. Do you really think there’s a group of kids out there saying “hmm, can’t find any pot… “
Excellent reference, Bob.
Now now, there’s nothing wrong with whippets. I had the good fortune myself to have worked at a Dairy Queen when I was around 14-15 years old. However, anything other N2O in the inhalant category is to be strictly avoided. They really should teach these kids some basic psychopharmacology. Thank the Elder Gods for the internets though were ye can hie ye down to the Erowid vaults or the Lycaeum and get yourself a proper education.
And speaking of inhalants, this one’s a real hoot:
Bobo’s World Indeed
And you really must click the link at that post to see the huffer in all his glory.
What a waste.
I remember the cans of compressed air we had. If you sprayed them upside down, some of the liquid would drip out of the nozzle and freeze whatever it landed on. Much cooler.
However, anything other N2O in the inhalant category is to be strictly avoided. They really should teach these kids some basic psychopharmacology.
They just need to know Sangamon’s Principle: The simpler the molecule the better the drug.
N2O is triatomic. Pretty damn simple. The propellant in spray paint (Hydroxyphenol propane) is C15H16O2. 33 atoms. Far more complex.
‘Course as a big fan of C21H30O2, C2H6O and C8H10N4O2 I must note that I’m not the best source for following this principle.
Hard to believe that we’re almost 30 yers down the road from the Natonal Academy of Sciences study that looked at 40 years of intensive government research into marijuana and found that the only identifiable hazard associated with reefer smoking was that of going to jail.
But, the Joke on Drugs gives politicians something to posture about, provides endless caravans of cash to the brugeoning prison industry, and lets everyone in public life feel just so much better about themselves for recommending that possesion of a joint should result in life behind bars. Indeed, I believe it is still true that in Texas you can shoot someone in the head in cold blood and get 7 years, but you’ll do 25 to life for having an once of pot.
I must be getting old. I remember when being dusted meant that there was a real likelihood of unwitting cannibalism taking place at some point before the end of the night…
They just need to know Sangamon’s Principle: The simpler the molecule the better the drug.
not quite, Sarcastro. CO is very simple, but a lungful of it would be a Bad Thing.
But carbon monoxide poisoning gets you REALLY high.
And Sangamon’s Principle should more accurately stated as “the simpler the molecule OF A DRUG, the better it is” rather than “the simpler the molecule of some random thing, the better it will be as a drug”. IE: Something has to already be used as a drug to be subject to Sangamon’s principle. Powdered sulphur is a simple molecule (if I remmeber my chem - it’s been years), but it doesn’t work as a drug, therefore Sangamon’s principle doesn’t apply.
(But what the fuck do I know? I don’t even drink.)
dude your an idiot, carbon monoxide, are you trying to kill yourself. The only thing you can really trust these days is weed, and even that might be laced but that all depends on who you buy from. Packing lips gives you a wicked buzz but its kinda disgusting.
I guess I don’t understand this need to get high. Sure in high school I drank, but I never looked at a can of compressed air and thought, “hmmmm…this loooks like fun! I’m gonna huff it!” But I guess that if teens are so bored that they are turning to cans of compressed air, then our society has a bigger problem.