I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 609

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 3, 1999

Referred to the Committee on Education and the Workforce

AN ACT

To amend the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and Communities

Act of 1994 to prevent the abuse of inhalants through

programs under that Act, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
2

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1 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

2 Section 4131 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

3 Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7141) is amended

4 by adding at the end the following:

5 ‘‘(7) ABUSE.—The term ‘abuse’, used with re6 spect to an inhalant, means the intentional breath7 ing of gas or vapors from the inhalant for the pur8 pose of achieving an altered state of consciousness.

9 ‘‘(8) DRUG.—The term ‘drug’ includes a sub10 stance that is an inhalant, whether or not possession

11 or consumption of the substance is legal.

12 ‘‘(9) INHALANT.—The term ‘inhalant’ means a

13 product that—

14 ‘‘(A) may be a legal, commonly available

15 product; and

16 ‘‘(B) has a useful purpose but can be

17 abused, such as spray paint, glue, gasoline, cor18 rection fluid, furniture polish, a felt tip marker,

19 pressurized whipped cream, an air freshener,

20 butane, or cooking spray.

21 ‘‘(10) USE.—The term ‘use’, used with respect

22 to an inhalant, means abuse of the inhalant.’’.

23 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

24 Section 4002 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

25 Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7102) is amended—
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1 (1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and the

2 abuse of inhalants,’’ after ‘‘other drugs’’;

3 (2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and the ille4 gal use of alcohol and drugs’’ and inserting ‘‘, the

5 illegal use of alcohol and drugs, and the abuse of

6 inhalants’’;

7 (3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and tobacco’’

8 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, tobacco, and

9 inhalants’’;

10 (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and illegal

11 drug use’’ and inserting ‘‘, illegal drug use, and in12 halant abuse’’; and

13 (5) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(11)(A) The number of children using

15 inhalants has doubled during the 10-year period pre16 ceding 1999. Inhalants are the third most abused

17 class of substances by children age 12 through 14 in

18 the United States, behind alcohol and tobacco. One

19 of 5 students in the United States has tried

20 inhalants by the time the student has reached the

21 8th grade.

22 ‘‘(B) Inhalant vapors react with fatty tissues in

23 the brain, literally dissolving the tissues. A single

24 use of inhalants can cause instant and permanent

25 brain, heart, kidney, liver, and other organ damage.
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1 The user of an inhalant can suffer from Sudden

2 Sniffing Death Syndrome, which can cause a user to

3 die the first, tenth, or hundredth time the user uses

4 an inhalant.

5 ‘‘(C) Because inhalants are legal, education on

6 the dangers of inhalant abuse is the most effective

7 method of preventing the abuse of inhalants.’’.

8 SEC. 3. PURPOSE.

9 Section 4003 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

10 Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7103) is amended,

11 in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘and

12 abuse of inhalants’’ after ‘‘and drugs’’.

13 SEC. 4. GOVERNOR’S PROGRAMS.

14 Section 4114(c)(2) of the Safe and Drug-Free

15 Schools and Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C.

16 7114(c)(2)) is amended by inserting ‘‘(including inhalant

17 abuse education)’’ after ‘‘drug and violence prevention’’.

18 SEC. 5. DRUG AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS.

19 Section 4116 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and

20 Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7116) is amended—

21 (1) in subsection (a)(1)(A), by inserting ‘‘, and

22 the abuse of inhalants,’’ after ‘‘illegal drugs’’; and

23 (2) in subsection (b)—

24 (A) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (i) by inserting ‘‘and the abuse of

2 inhalants’’ after ‘‘use of illegal drugs’’; and

3 (ii) by inserting ‘‘and abuse

4 inhalants’’ after ‘‘use illegal drugs’’; and

5 (B) in paragraph (2)—

6 (i) in the matter preceding subpara7 graph (A), by inserting ‘‘(including age ap8 propriate inhalant abuse prevention pro9 grams for all students, from the preschool

10 level through grade 12)’’ after ‘‘drug pre11 vention’’; and

12 (ii) in subparagraph (C), by inserting

13 ‘‘and inhalant abuse’’ after ‘‘drug use’’.

14 SEC. 6. FEDERAL ACTIVITIES.

15 Section 4121(a) of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools

16 and Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7131(a)) is

17 amended, in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘illegal use of

18 drugs’’ and inserting ‘‘illegal use of drugs, the abuse of

19 inhalants,’’.

20 SEC. 7. MATERIALS.

21 Section 4132(a) of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools

22 and Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7142(a)) is

23 amended by striking ‘‘illegal use of alcohol and other

24 drugs’’ and inserting ‘‘illegal use of alcohol and other

25 drugs and the abuse of inhalants’’.
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1 SEC. 8. QUALITY RATING.

2 Section 4134(b)(1) of the Safe and Drug-Free

3 Schools and Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C.

4 7144(b)(1)) is amended by inserting ‘‘, and the abuse of

5 inhalants,’’ after ‘‘tobacco’’.

Passed the Senate April 30, 1999.

Attest: GARY SISCO,

Secretary.