Enrolled HCR 8: Requesting the Governor to declare March 16 - 22, 2003, to be Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week.
00Enrolled HCR 8 01 Requesting the Governor to declare March 16 - 22, 2003, to be Inhalants and Poisons 02 Awareness Week. 03 _______________ 04 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 05 WHEREAS all communities should be made aware of the potential harm of poisons 06 and inhalants because poisons and the improper use of inhalants pose an ever-present danger 07 to Alaska, its communities, and its people; and 08 WHEREAS, while legal and helpful when properly used and administered, these 09 substances can be disabling and even fatal when misused; and 10 WHEREAS statistics indicate that a significant percentage of elementary school age 11 children as well as adolescents and adults have experimented with or are likely to experiment 12 with inhalants; that more than 70 percent of chronic substance abusers began with inhalants, 13 which are the fourth most used addictive substance after tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana; that 14 inhalants often lead to the use of other illegal drugs; that chronic inhalant abusers suffer 15 permanent and severe brain damage; that other risks include heart failure, loss of 16 consciousness, and irreversible damage to the liver, kidneys, and bone marrow; and that more
01 than 1,400 legal products can be inhaled to "get high"; and 02 WHEREAS, each year, more than 1,800,000 people suffer from ingestion of or 03 exposure to household poisons; most often, it is children under the age of six who experience 04 the effects of accidental poison exposure, and, in most cases, common household items 05 including aspirin, cough and cold remedies, perfumes, and cleaning products are the source of 06 the poison; and 07 WHEREAS inhalants and poisons pose a threat to the well-being of the citizens of the 08 state; and 09 WHEREAS Alaska is taking a leading role in developing inhalant treatment protocols 10 and encouraging inhalant prevention efforts through the Annual Inhalant Prevention 11 Conference and the establishment of a statewide inhalant intervention program, and the 12 Tundra Swan Inhalant Treatment Center in Bethel, Alaska; 13 BE IT RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature encourages support of the 14 cooperative efforts of the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition and other local, state, and 15 federal organizations and communities that are working together to prevent alcoholism and 16 drug abuse by their efforts to make others aware of the dangers of inhalants and poisons; and 17 be it 18 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests the 19 Governor to proclaim the week of March 16 - 22, 2003, as Inhalants and Poisons Awareness 20 Week to coincide with the National Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week; and be it 21 FURTHER RESOLVED that the Alaska State Legislature respectfully requests and 22 encourages all public and private agencies and citizens of the state to observe and recognize 23 Inhalants and Poisons Awareness Week with appropriate activities, including using every 24 means available to inform the children and families of Alaska about the dangers of inhalants 25 and poisons.