[An intrepid (and sadly defunct) newspaper often reported on the dangers of dung sniffing, but its warnings went unheeded by the mainstream press.]
Weekly World News
22 July 1997 [Reprinted 28 March 2000]
COW MANURE SNIFFING TURNS DEADLY!
By Mike Foster
KANSAS CITY -- The widespread fad of cow manure sniffing has claimed its first lives: A pair of teenagers who had become addicted to the bizarre practice.
Authorities say the unidentified teens, a 17-year-old male and his 15-year-old girlfriend, suffocated when they attempted to enhance the intoxicating effects of methane gas released by the decaying feces by inhaling it in a small, airtight meat locker.
And the recent tragedy may be only the first of many, police, school officials and parents fear.
"Manure sniffing has reached epidemic proportions nationwide and thousands of addicted youngsters are showing signs of serious brain damage -- it was only a matter of time before something like this happened," declared Tammi Factos, presidents of Mother Against Manure, a group dedicated to eradicating the nasty habit.
"We can expect to see more death and heartbreak down the road."
Manure sniffing, or "snorting secondhand grass," as aficionados call it, has been steadily growing in popularity in the Midwest and South over the past four years.
Young people have found they can get a cheap high by plopping a bowl over a fresh, steaming pile of cow manure, sticking straws through the bottom of the bowl and inhaling the methane gas through the straws.
The nutty craze has now become so common that experts fear it could end up turning much of Generation X into a bunch of drooling, fried-brained bull crap junkies. [...]
Weekly World News
10 Oct. 2000
POOP SMOKING FAD SWEEPS EUROPE
By Richard Bennet
BERLIN -- Thrill-seeking European teenagers have found a revolting new way to get high -- they smoke dried poop like it's going out of style!
Nobody knows just how, when or where the sick but legal fad got started.
But concerned authorities estimate as many as 200,000 kids light up each and every day in England, Germany, France and the Netherlands alone. [...]
Dried cow dung is the poop of choice among aficionados. But bird, frog and even dog droppings are gaining popularity, authorities and users report. [...]
Weekly World News
3 September 2002
FORGET ABOUT TOAD LICKING!
THERE'S A NEW DRUG IN TOWN -- LIZARD POOP!
By Justin Mitchell
TUCSON, Ariz. -- America's teens are turning away from pot, cocaine and other "old" drugs in favor of a cheap new legal high: Lizard dung! [...]
Weekly World News
11 March 2003
TODAY'S KIDS SNIFF COW CHIPS!
By Mike Foster
ABILENE, Texas -- So many U.S. teens are now getting high from sniffing manure that horrified educators, family values advocates and law enforcement officials are calling for a ban on the stomach-turning practice. [...]
It was in the early 1990s that recreational manure-sniffing first surfaced in the U.S., believed to have been brought over by Malaysian immigrants.
Enthusiasts say that breathing in fumes from fresh cow dung induces a natural high more potent than heroin or cocaine -- not to mention cheaper.
Since then, the craze has grown steadily, especially in the Southwest. Educators say they've seen the "corrosive effects" of the trend, claiming the manure-sniffing fad has led to increased truancy and vandalism.
"You'll see a bunch of kids cut class and head out back to the pastures," says a high-school teacher in Abilene.
"They come back with a glassy look in their eyes and a stupid smile on their faces. You look at their shoes and you know exactly what they've been up to." [...]
Weekly World News
17 June 2003
NO B.S. DRUGGIES SMOKE COW MANURE TO GET HIGH!
By Brenda Merlin
AMSTERDAM -- Thrill-seeking European teenagers have found a revolting new way to get high: They smoke dried poop like it's going out of style.
Nobody knows just how, when or where the sick-but-legal fad got started. But worried authorities estimate as many as 200,000 kids between the ages of 11 and 19 light up each and every day in England, Germany, France and the Netherlands alone. [...]
Early studies suggest cow dung and other forms of feces contain a host of dangerous psychoactive substances that are formed during the digestive process.
One of those is a precursor to Ecstasy, an amphetamine-like drug that can damage the brain and central nervous system with just one "trip." Another is strikingly similar to the wildly hallucinogenic, LSD-like compound found in morning glory seeds. [...]
A 14-year-old girl in Frankfurt, Germany, actually jumped to her death from the balcony of an 11th floor apartment after telling friends she was going to "fly to the Bahamas" to ask reggae great Bob Marley to play a few tunes at her 15th birthday party.
"This young lady was an honor student, but in a dung-induced stupor, she forgot three things," says Dr. DuPont.
"One, Bob Marley was from Jamaica, not the Bahamas. Two, he's been dead for decades. And three, she couldn't fly.
"Dung not dangerous? Think about this young woman's story and you tell me."