# kids and compressed air



## speedster123

D U S T I N G

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 its 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 cer tified 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 building 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! h I had bought on sale so I bought a si n gle jumbo can of Dust Off. I went home and set it down beside my computer. 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 leaning over. She called to him a few times to 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 c an of Dust off was in his system. No other drugs. 
Kyle had died between midnight and 1am. 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 no.

Kyle was wrong. It's not just compressed air. It also contains a propellant called R2. It's a refrigerant 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 doesn't fit here. And that's why it's 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 ton gue hurting. It probably did. The 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 amily'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 are 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.

After 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 a nother 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. So rather than tell everyone about this "new" way of getting high they found, 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 house.

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 2nd was 1 month since Kyle died. April 5th would have been his 15th birthday. And every weekday I catch myself sitting 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.

This Officer is asking for EVERYONE who receives this email to forward it to everyone in their address book, even Law Enforcement Officers.
Even if you do not have children, you can still forward this to friends & family who do.

W. Daniel Boyd, Jr. 
Superintendent of Schools
620 East University Avenue
Gainesville, FL 32601
Office: (352) 955-7880
Fax: (352) 955-7873
Email: [email protected]


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## carsey

Nasty.

That stuff wrecks, air spray.....it gets so cold and if it gets onto your finger it hurts for a age.


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## Glaswegian

Jeff

I don't know how hard this post has been for you and I realise that nothing can bring Kyle back. However, I'm still going to offer you and your wife and family my sincere condolences.

I was not aware of this issue at all - but I am now. Thank you.


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## wtrmn76

Not be sounding as a druugie. but in high school(15 years ago) I did cream puffs. the Co2 cartridges for seltzer bottles. then scotch gaurd!!!!! huffing it. its nuts that you would even do it but its out there and I do hide all compressed gas from my kids( or wifes kids) this is a serious problem that people dont know about.

I was caught and never did it again but I still have it in my lungs(you don't want to know how I know). I never did anything else just that that high was OK...its not. Yep you are right, they look for the r2. God I feel for your family and I have talked to schools about it. but there is not so much of alarm. It is all compressed air that is sold. If you watch films or have ever been to a rave you will see kids with balloons. its not just for fun its to intake. I'm sure you know this side but ANY COMPRESSED AIR IN A CAN CAN DO IT!!!!! Thanks for the post as it gets the word out. Maybe not the freezing factor, but the depriving oxygen to the brain.

I'm praying for you and your family. Thanks for the post


M


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## ashumann12

Jeff, I'm not sure what to say. First off, my sincere condolences. Second, as a former sheriff's deputy and a father, I can only guess at the dept of your pain and sorrow. Not only will you and your family be in our prayers, but I will foreword your post to all my family and Friends in the hopes that this may cause a person to think twice before doing it. Hang in there brother, and thanks for the post.


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## forcifer

im very sorry, jeff. that really must suck

i just dont hear enough about it. yes, i have access to compressed air, but there are better ways (not to mention legal!) to get a rush like that. i prefer energy drinks to alchohol, drugs.


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## speedster123

i couldnt edit my post, this story came from my uncle in florida.


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## JohnthePilot

It's a relief to know it's not you but it's a message that still needs getting across.


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## bry623

It wasn't anyone's uncle, but it is true.
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/dustoff.asp


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## sobeit

can air has been a problem for decades. I remember when I was working in Walmart about 12 years ago a woman came running in fussing that her son purchased some can air from walmart and was using it to get high off of. 

The manager was wanting to do it until I pointed out that if we remove can air, we would have to remove finger nail polish remover, spray paints, permanment markers, glue, etc... also. 

The air stayed on the shelf.


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## ashumann12

I'm just glad that it didn't happen to one of our "family". But still a very serious issue.


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## carsey

We have a law in the UK where its illegal to buy aerosols if you are under 18....well they have it at the superstore down the road.


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## ashumann12

If kids want to huff something, they will find it. The hard part is educating them on the consequences.


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## bry623

There are better things to huff.


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## sobeit

bry623 said:


> There are better things to huff.


I am sure its not cattle manure????:tongue: some kids will huff fresh cattle manure.


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## ebackhus

I know people who like doing the compressed air thing. I used to buy many cans of the stuff to do cleanings with and then had to steal them back from my "friends." Now I just use reducer nozzles on my shop vac to get the job done.


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## JohnthePilot

I'm lucky 'cos my spray workshop is next to the house so I just run a hose round from the compressor.


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