Tama County considering huffing ban

TOLEDO (MCT) — An ordinance under consideration by Tama County supervisors may help law enforcement officials combat abuse of inhalants.

The law would ban huffing — when a person inhales everyday household products to get high — in an effort to curb the practice.

Sheriff Dennis Kucera, who is pushing for the ordinance, said huffing isn’t a major problem in the county but the activity is increasing in prominence.

“We just need a little bit of a lever to try to control it,” Kucera said.

According to the proposal, huffing is defined as “smelling or inhaling fumes” from glues, cement, hair spray, paint or other pressurized gases or solvents. Those substances can release a toxic vapor, which the ordinance suggests can be used “for the purpose of intoxication, excitement, exhilaration or dulling the senses of the nervous system.”

The city of Tama passed a similar ban on huffing several years ago after concerns developed. At the time, police officers had few options to deal with people who were impaired by the effects of inhalants.

“This gives us a chance to at least get them some help,” Tama Police Chief Dan Wilkens said.
Wilkens, also a Tama County supervisor, said his department has dealt with juveniles and adults abusing everything from paint thinner to canned whipped cream. Tama’s ordinance was patterned after a similar one in Marshalltown, he added.

The county is coping with the same problems Tama encountered. Sheriff’s deputies see repeated instances of people high on inhalants. Most of the time, deputies just take the person to a hospital for treatment, Kucera said.

According to the proposal, deputies can arrest a person if they suspect the individual has been huffing. Often there is evidence of such abuse, like a strong chemical odor or some kind of paraphernalia, Kucera said.

Kucera and Wilkens said people shouldn’t be afraid of getting arrested if they are buying glue for model airplanes or spray paint for a project. The sheriff compared the ordinance to open container laws.

Authorities won’t arrest an individual for transporting empty beer cans to a redemption center. But they could be detained if a deputy suspects the person is under the influence of alcohol.