RUTLAND, Vt. -
People in Rutland say there is a growing concern about people getting high on bath salts and by "huffing."
Just last month, police blamed a man who had been huffing for killing a high school student.
Under T.V. lights in Rutland Thursday, police tried to bring a dark problem into the open.
"Clearly with our tragic incident, we don't want to see another one," says Sgt. Matthew Prouty, Rutland Police Department.
Prouty says that tragedy was the death of 17-year-old Carly Ferro last month. Police say she was run down and killed by a man who had been huffing.
"We need to educate people in the community," says Prouty.
That's why Prouty says he organized this discussion on community television. He says he wants people to learn more about "huffing" and bath salts.
"A lot of parents, teachers, guardians, may not know they're looking at something very dangerous in a child's room," says Prouty.
Evergreen director of substance abuse Clayton Gilbert says huffing or inhaling products can kill brain cells. As for bath salts, he says the biggest concern is a lot is not known about them.
"Some of these drugs are so new and the effects we're just finding out about, especially long-term effects. There really hasn't been studies on them. Education and prevention is really the key," says Gilbert.
Health experts and police admit they are learning as they go with these dangerous trends.
But they say one thing for parents to know is with bath salts, if they find a package, a key warning sign it could be dangerous is it if doesn't list the ingredients.
