00                    HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8                                                                    
01 Requesting the Governor to declare March 16 - 22, 2003, to be Inhalants and Poisons                                     
02 Awareness Week.                                                                                                         
03 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA:                                                               
04       WHEREAS all communities should be made aware of the potential harm of poisons                                   
05 and inhalants because poisons and the improper use of inhalants pose an ever-present danger                             
06 to Alaska, its communities, and its people; and                                                                         
07       WHEREAS, while legal and helpful when properly used and administered, these                                     
08 substances can be disabling and even fatal when misused; and                                                            
09       WHEREAS statistics indicate that a significant percentage of elementary school age                              
10 children as well as adolescents and adults have experimented with or are likely to experiment                           
11 with inhalants; that more than 70 percent of chronic substance abusers began with inhalants,                            
12 which are the fourth most used addictive substance after tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; that                          
13 inhalants often lead to the use of other illegal drugs; that chronic inhalant abusers suffer                            
14 permanent and severe brain damage; that other risks include heart failure, loss of                                      
15 consciousness, and irreversible damage to the liver, kidneys, and bone marrow; and that more                            
16 than 1,400 legal products can be inhaled to "get high"; and                                                             
01       WHEREAS, each year, more than 1,800,000 people suffer from ingestion of or                                      
02 exposure to household poisons; most often, it is children under the age of six who experience                           
03 the effects of accidental poison exposure, and, in most cases, common household items                                   
04 including aspirin, cough and cold remedies, perfumes, and cleaning products are the source of                           
05 the poison; and                                                                                                         
06       WHEREAS inhalants and poisons pose a threat to the well-being of the citizens of the                            
07 state; and                                                                                                              
08       WHEREAS Alaska is taking a leading role in developing inhalant treatment protocols                              
09 and encouraging inhalant prevention efforts through the Annual Inhalant Prevention                                      
10 Conference and the establishment of a statewide inhalant intervention program, and the                                  
11 Tundra Swan Inhalant Treatment Center in Bethel, Alaska;                                                                
12       BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages support of the                                      
13 cooperative efforts of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition and other local, state, and                           
14 federal organizations and communities that are working together to prevent alcoholism and                               
15 drug abuse by their efforts to make others aware of the dangers of inhalants and poisons; and                           
16 be it                                                                                                                   
17       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                    
18 Governor to proclaim the week of March 16 - 22, 2003, as Inhalants and Poisons Awareness                                
19 Week to coincide with the National Inhalant and Poison Awareness Week; and be it                                        
20       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests and                                    
21 encourages all public and private agencies and citizens of the state to observe and recognize                           
22 Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week with appropriate activities, including using every                                 
23 means available to inform the children and families of Alaska about the dangers of inhalants                            
24 and poisons.