Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Friday, February 22, 2013
(HENRY COUNTY) - Indiana teens are using hand sanitizer and gummy bears to get drunk.
Renee Jameson of TheIndyChannel.com staff reports that James Sons, a juvenile investigator in Henry County, said area kids have learned how to distill the sanitizer to get drunk.
"Through their straining process, it just comes out alcohol and they drink it," Sons said.
Sons said a little bit of sanitizer could become the equivalent of a couple shots of hard liquor.
Teens are also soaking gummy bears - or booze bears - in alcohol, then eating the candy to get drunk.
Olene Veach, the Educational Coordinator for the Henry County Sheriff's Department, said parents need to pay attention to their kids and look for behavioral changes.
"If they're, become not as interested in school, or I don't really want this, or I just want to go to my room and stay a lot in their room, you know, all these kinds of changes which are different then the norm for them, is an alert that something's going on," Veach said.
Using gummy bears and hand sanitizer might be some of the newer ways kids are abusing, but Sons said they don't stop there. In fact, he said, a 15-year-old used a product that cleans computers to get high at school on Wednesday.
"She actually had it hidden in her sweatshirt sleeves so no one could see it. And, she was spraying it filling her sleeve with the product and then sniffing her sleeve, which produces a high," Sons said. "She actually ended up passing out."
Sons said the girl using the computer duster to get high is going to be OK.
Sons' advice for parents is to talk with your kids, be involved with what they're doing and check their rooms. He said this abuse can be deadly.
1340 AM WBIW welcomes comments and suggestions by calling 812.277.1340 during normal business hours or by email at comments@wbiw.com
© Ad-Venture Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.