I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 790
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.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
FEBRUARY 28, 2001
Ms. HOOLEY of Oregon (for herself, Mr. WELDON of Pennsylvania, Ms.
MCKINNEY, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mr. HYDE, Mr. BONIOR, Mr.
DEFAZIO, Mrs. EMERSON, Ms. KILPATRICK, Mr. HINCHEY, Mr.
KUCINICH, Mr. WOLF, Mr. BARRETT of Wisconsin, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr.
SESSIONS, Mr. OWENS, and Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California) intro-
duced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Edu-
cation and the Workforce
A BILL
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.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
Section 4131 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7141) is amended
by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(7) ABUSE.—The term ‘abuse’, used with re-
spect to an inhalant, means the intentional breath-
ing of gas or vapors from the inhalant for the pur-
pose of achieving an altered state of consciousness.
‘‘(8) DRUG.—The term ‘drug’ includes a sub-
stance that is an inhalant, whether or not possession
or consumption of the substance is legal.
‘‘(9) INHALANT.—The term ‘inhalant’ means a
product that—
‘‘(A) may be a legal, commonly available
product; and
‘‘(B) has a useful purpose but can be
abused, such as spray paint, glue, gasoline, cor-
rection fluid, furniture polish, a felt tip marker,
pressurized whipped cream, an air freshener,
butane, or cooking spray.
‘‘(10) USE.—The term ‘use’, used with respect
to an inhalant, means abuse of the inhalant.’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Section 4002 of the Safe and Drug-Free Schools and
Communities Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 7102) is amended—
(1) in paragraph (2), by inserting ‘‘, and the
abuse of inhalants,’’ after ‘‘other drugs’’;
(2) in paragraph (5), by striking ‘‘and the ille-
gal use of alcohol and drugs’’ and inserting ‘‘, the
illegal use of alcohol and drugs, and the abuse of
inhalants’’;
(3) in paragraph (7), by striking ‘‘and tobacco’’
each place it appears and inserting ‘‘, tobacco, and
inhalants’’;
(4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘and illegal
drug use’’ and inserting ‘‘, illegal drug use, and in-
halant abuse’’; and
(5) by adding at the end the following:
‘‘(11)(A) 
The 
number 
of 
children 
using
inhalants has doubled during the 10-year period pre-
ceding 1999. Inhalants are the third most abused
class of substances by children age 12 through 14 in
the United States, behind alcohol and tobacco. One
of 5 students in the United States has tried
inhalants by the time the student has reached the
8th grade.
‘‘(B) Inhalant vapors react with fatty tissues in
the brain, literally dissolving the tissues. A single
use of inhalants can cause instant and permanent
brain, heart, kidney, liver, and other organ damage.
The user of an inhalant can suffer from Sudden
Sniffing Death Syndrome, which can cause a user to
die the first, tenth, or hundredth time the user uses
an inhalant.