Inhalants Contributing Factor In Two Fayetteville Deaths

FAYETTEVILLE -- Passers-by found Patricia Sprouse in Spout Spring Branch face down, legs crossed, her body as still as the water pooled around her. Two cans of Dust Off sat in her lap; a third floated not far away.

Sprouse had been inhaling the compressed air for the "euphoric" high it produces, police said. The high, caused by the chemical difluoroethane, usually lasts a few minutes, according to inhalants experts.

Sprouse most likely passed out from huffing the product and subsequently drowned, according to an Arkansas State Crime Laboratory report. Cause of death was difluoroethane toxicity and drowning.

A receipt in her purse revealed she'd bought the cans at 2 p.m. that day. A couple walking east along 15th Street noticed her about 30 minutes later sitting along the bed of the creek, which runs behind the Fayetteville Salvation Army.

They recalled she cried out to no one in particular about her children. Sprouse lost custody of her young children, she'd told friends and acquaintances at Seven Hills Homeless Center in Fayetteville. They said the loss tormented her.

Police were dispatched about four hours later. Her body might have been missed had there not been a sidewalk along 15th, which overlooks the creek.

Another Fayetteville woman, Latonya Grover, died 12 days later at a local hotel. She likely passed out from huffing compressed air, then drowned in a bathtub, according to a police report. An autopsy report had yet to be released Friday.

Inhalants are most commonly abused by teenagers, according to a 2012 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. But more than 1 million adults abuse inhalants each year, and 54 percent of treatment admissions related to inhalant abuse involve adults 18 and over, according to a federal 2011 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration study.

"Everyone always makes an association that it's always kids, but we've seen kind of a variety," said Sgt. Craig Stout, public information officer for the Fayetteville Police Department.

Inhalants attract people from many backgrounds because of their wide availability and minimal or nonexistent criminal charges for possessing them, according to the National Inhalant Prevention Coalition.

Trends

Inhalants include several household products whose chemical fumes produce a high when inhaled, like art or office supply solvents, gases and aerosols, medical anesthetics and nitrites.

It is a class B misdemeanor to huff such products to achieve a condition of intoxication, according to Arkansas statute 5-60-116.

Thirty-eight states in the U.S. have restricted the sale and distribution of products commonly abused as inhalants, which include paint, spray paint, Wite-Out, glue and others, according to DrugFreeWorld.org. Arkansas only bans the possession and distribution of nitrous oxide.

"It's important that we remind ourselves that products we consider essential to our daily routines -- that tend to become almost invisible because they are so common -- can be deadly," said Pamela Dodson, assistant director of adult services recovery and certification for the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Stout said huffing was a contributing factor in a Fayetteville car accident in 2012 and one in 2013. Deaths from inhalants like Sprouse and Grover have been few and far between in recent years, he said.

"The fact that both of them were results of someone who passed out from huffing into a body of water and drowned -- I mean, that's a very unique set of circumstances," he said.

Dust Off did not to respond to questions submitted through an online contact form.

Inhalant abuse is most common among teenagers. In Arkansas, 6.1 percent of eighth-graders reported abusing inhalants in 2009, compared with a national average of 3.8 percent, according to the Arkansas Department of Human Services.

Items used in huffing can be easier to access than illicit drugs, and huffing can be addictive although the high it produces is fleeting.

"When inhalants are used over a period of time, the user can develop a tolerance, prompting more frequent use of greater amounts to achieve the desired high," Dodson said.

Inhalants can also cause adverse health effects, such as permanent damage to the nervous system and pulmonary tissues. "Sudden sniffing death" can occur in some users, where one "huff" can cause the user to lapse into cardiac arrest.

"It's like playing Russian Roulette," Dodson said. "The user can die the first, 10th or 100th time a product is misused as an inhalant."

Trying To Be happy

Sprouse frequented the homeless camps around 15th Street and the Seven Hills Homeless Center. Attempts to reach Sprouse's sister, who was listed in the police report, were unsuccessful.

Friends and acquaintances at the center remembered her compassion. Charity Gore said Sprouse understood people well and cared about others' happiness. And whenever Sprouse passed Gore's house, she sang country music songs, earning her the nickname "Country" by some.

"She tried to be happy," Gore said.

Dwayne Armer recalled Sprouse "just had this glow about her." "You could talk to her about anything," he said.

Laura Smith, who requested her last name be changed, said she met Sprouse the morning she died. Smith had enrolled in the same transitional housing program Sprouse was in: the Seven Hills Walker Family Residential Community. They exchanged a quick greeting.

Smith found some of Sprouse's Bible study books and guides when she packed up Sprouse's room. Many of her writings were done in the margins of Bible study guides. She wrote about longing to see her children, an emotion that resonated with Smith, who lost her parental rights six and a half years ago.

Smith said it's probably the accessibility of inhalants that appeals to users, though in her experience she's seen more people choose alcohol over other drugs. Still, some would opt for any substance they could get.

"Anything to make them not feel what they're feeling," Smith said.

Resisting Recovery

Bryan Brandon, a Fayetteville resident and Grover's ex-boyfriend, was most likely the last person she spoke with, according to the police report.

Brandon accompanied Grover when she checked into Candlewood Suites, according to the report. Brandon told police he had been trying to help her overcome her addiction. Although their relationship had ended, he would often pay for a hotel room for her when she underwent "difficult times," according to the report.

Brandon left 10 minutes after they booked a room on July 12. Her body was found the next day when her rental ended and hotel staff called police after they were unable to get into her room.

She had an aunt in Bella Vista who told police she was "the only family close enough to assist." The woman declined to comment.

Grover was supposed to have filled out forms for entry into a rehabilitation program at Decision Point in Springdale, a nonprofit substance abuse treatment center, but she hadn't, Brandon told police. She appeared distant and disinterested in recovery, he said in the report.

The recovery process can be difficult, several people at Seven Hills said. The Seven Hills program Sprouse was in provided housing for up to two years, as well as budgeting classes, job and home search help, and assistance in furthering their education. Mary Lou Gates, director of the program, said the goal is to help residents become financially independent.

"They're really working on themselves when they're here," Gates said, adding Sprouse's status in the program is confidential.

There are addiction recovery options in Northwest Arkansas, including adult treatment for inhalants, according to interviews with regional medical professionals.

Judy Smith is the sole counselor certified in alcohol and addiction recovery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Psychiatric Research Institute in Springdale. She said she hasn't treated any adults for inhalants in a while, but she would begin her sessions with inhalant-addicted patients by informing them of the physical harm inhalants can do.

Smith said she's seen more children -- middle schoolers, in particular -- for inhalant addiction than adults.

Detoxification for inhalant addiction is typically milder, although getting patients to quit inhaling household products is different from weaning patients off of other, illegal drugs.

"It's just a little more difficult because they're just everywhere," Smith said.

Ozark Guidance Center offers outpatient recovery services for substance abuse, and a few patients are referred for inhalants by the legal system, said Miguel Garcia, a substance abuse counselor at the center.

The center first conducts an assessment of the patient, who is either self-admitted or referred by the legal system or an employer, Garcia said. The assessment costs $100. Center counselors then determine an individualized treatment plan.

The center does not offer inpatient services. A homeless person could admit himself to outpatient recovery services if he was capable of paying the fees.

Michael Mancino, a psychiatric doctor at the UAMS Psychiatric Research Institute in Little Rock, said he has treated one adult patient for inhalant addiction. The woman was addicted to huffing gasoline to the point that she kept it on her bedside table at night.

Treatment for inhalant abuse may not target the addiction specifically, as there are no medications that will help wean people off of them, Mancino said. But doctors may treat other psychiatric problems that may help cut the addiction.

It can also be difficult to track a patient's progress, Mancino said. Doctors can monitor a patient's drug use by conducting screens for marijuana, methamphetamine, heroin and others.

"But you won't find anything if you're using inhalants," Mancino said.