NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla.- A North Fort Myers woman tells deputies she was just trying to clear her mind after she was caught inhaling
from a can of aerosol dust remover.

Deputies and EMS crews were called to the Pine Island Road Wal-Mart parking lot in reference to a woman inhaling an unknown substance before becoming barely conscious.

According to sheriff's reports, she even did it infront of the deputy.

"It was quite obvious when he saw her huffing the aerosol from the can what was taking place," said Lee County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Larry King.

The deputy says the woman slumped over after inhaling from the can. He tried to get her to unlock the door, but she was so out of it, she couldn't.

With no other choice, he broke through the passenger side window to get her out of the car so she could get the medical attention she needed.

She was treated at the hospital before being booked on a misdemeanor charge for inhaling dangerous chemicals.

The woman says she was "not trying to kill herself", that she "was going through a rough time and was just trying to clear her mind for a few minutes".

Drug addiction experts say her method of "clarity" could have killed her.

"It destroys brain cells, it destroys liver cells--all the sensitive organs of the body are affected. In effect, they're actually suffocating while they're doing it," said Allan Bratton with Southwest Florida Addiction Services.

Deputies and Bratton say while inhalants are not an epidemic problem in Southwest Florida it is serious, against the law and deadly.