Fatal Arizona crash puts spotlight on inhalants
While Arizona Valley drug education programs focus on the dangers of tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and designer drugs, they don't emphasize inhalants, even though one in 10 Arizona teens say they've sniffed chemicals to get high.

"I don't think law enforcement realizes how serious this is," Maricopa County, Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio said Tuesday, adding that he plans to add inhalant education to the county's drug prevention program in schools. "It really hasn't had more attention because it hasn't been made a big issue."

Passengers in a car driven by Phil Staun, 16, admitted they had been inhaling Dust-Off, an aerosol computer cleaner, when the car crashed into a truck driven by Martin Bonilla, 38, of Mesa. Staun, a junior at Desert Mountain High School in Scottsdale, Arizona and Bonilla were killed in the Friday morning crash.

Inhaling, sometimes called "huffing," is considered a gateway to more serious drug abuse, particularly among young children. The problem, which cuts across all socio-economic levels, is complicated by the fact that so many aerosols can be used to get high, making regulation difficult, law enforcement and substance abuse experts say.

"We're seeing inhalants being used more and more by our young teenagers," Maricopa County, Arizona Attorney Rick Romley said Tuesday.