Jabberwocky
Frumious Bandersnatch
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- Nov 3, 1999
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YOUNG children getting high on underarm deodorant is now one of the biggest challenges confronting youth workers on Melbourne’s streets.
Frontline welfare organisations say chroming, or sniffing, inhalants has regained popularity in the past six months despite bans and restrictions on purchases of some paints and aerosols.
Pre-teens are buying or stealing deodorant to sniff because it’s a cheap and accessible form of “escapism”, youth workers say.
They say that while the drug ice has received nationwide media attention in recent years, chroming continued to be the popular with children.
Whitelion outreach workers have “lost count” of the number of times they’ve had to call an ambulance for people who’ve sniffed inhalants or had a cocktail of drugs.
In northern Queensland last year, chroming became so rampant that deodorants were taken off the shelves in some major supermarkets.
But frontline workers say that banning sales in Victoria may not work because other products are readily accessible.
It comes as a new bus has hit the road to give young people a safe place to wait while they come down from their drug high, thanks to donations by community groups.
A team of volunteers and social workers on board the Chatterbox Bus has provided “critical support” to almost 2000 young people in the CBD and surrounds.
Whitelion’s Anthony Grimm said the bus, which visited homeless hot spots at night, had given chromers as young as 12 food, water, blankets and first aid.
“There’s obviously something there that they’re trying to escape from, or they’re trying to fill a void,” Mr Grimm said.
“There’s a need that isn’t being met ... and this is where we come along.”
The bus — which had been connecting youth to housing and health services for more than a decade — recently received an 11th hour funding reprieve from community groups.
Dom Ennis from Youth Drug and Alcohol Advice, which partners with 32 welfare organisations, said chroming remained a constant problem statewide and any increase would have been contained to peer groups or suburbs.
Source: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/vi...|heading|homepage|homepage&itmt=1434880585317
Well nothing like smelling nice when doing drugs