00            CS FOR HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 6(HES) am                                                            
01 Requesting the Governor to declare March 18 - 24, 2001, to be Inhalants and Poisons                                     
02 Awareness Week and August 26 - September 1, 2001, to be Inhalant 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 marijuana, crack cocaine, and other illegal drugs; that                              
14 chronic inhalant abusers suffer permanent and severe brain damage; that other risks include                             
15 heart failure, loss of consciousness, and irreversible damage to the liver, kidneys, and bone                           
16 marrow; and that more than 1,400 legal products can be inhaled to "get high"; and                                       

01       WHEREAS, each year, more than 1.8 million 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 poisons and inhalants 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, with a                                   
11 residential treatment program opening in Bethel, Alaska, in August 2001;                                                
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 these toxic substances; and                          
16 be it                                                                                                                   
17       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the                                    
18 Governor to proclaim the week of March 18 - 24, 2001, as Inhalants and Poisons Awareness                                
19 Week to coincide with the National Inhalant and Poison Awareness Week and also to                                       
20 proclaim the week of August 26 - September 1, 2001, as Inhalant Awareness Week to                                       
21 coincide with the Fourth Annual Inhalant Prevention Conference and the grand opening of the                             
22 Statewide Residential Inhalant Treatment Program; and be it                                                             
23       FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests and                                    
24 encourages all public and private agencies and citizens of the state to observe and recognize                           
25 Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week and Inhalant Awareness Week with appropriate                                       
26 activities, including using every means available to inform the children and families of Alaska                         
27 about the dangers of inhalants.