Eating Disorder Expert Passes Out on Nitrous Oxide

[devil]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...005/07/21/nati onal/a113924D51.DTL
(07-21) 11:39 PDT Hartford, Conn. (AP) --

A prominent eating disorder expert
who collapsed in a supermarket after allegedly inhaling propellant from
whipped cream cans applied for a special form of probation Thursday.

If a judge grants accelerated rehabilitation,
Lisa G. Berzins will have her criminal record cleared after she
completes probation. The program is reserved for first-time offenders
and does not include a formal guilty plea.

According to the arrest warrant affidavit,
West Hartford police were called to a grocery store May 29 and found
Berzins lying on the floor and bleeding from her head. Berzins told
police she did not know what happened.

Investigators concluded that Berzins inhaled
from three cans of whipped cream containing nitrous oxide, known as
laughing gas, the affidavit said.

Berzins was charged with possession of a restricted substance, criminal mischief and creating a public disturbance.

Berzins and her attorney, Bob Ludgin, declined
to comment as they left the courtroom Thursday. She is due back in
Hartford Superior Court on Sept. 8.

Berzins, 49, has written and lectured on
eating disorders, female development, sex roles and self-esteem,
according a speaker's biography from the American Psychological
Association. She has visited schools in a "fat suit" to bring a message
to young people about the fear of being overweight.