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The Los Angeles City Council is considering cracking down on the sale of nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. This nitrous oxide is typically administered by anesthesiologists as a short-acting sedative, but recreational use can lead to disorientation, falls, and even death.
But California now allows the sale of gas for other uses across the state, which could make a ban aimed at preventing young people from using gas to get high difficult. There is sex.
Last month, the City Council voted 14-0 to direct the city attorney to analyze Rialto’s 2017 ordinance banning the sale of nitrous oxide to minors. The city attorney was asked to investigate how the city enforced the law and penalized violators, and to make recommendations for implementing the ban in Los Angeles.
“Nitrous oxide is a highly addictive and harmful epidemic drug, but it is now more readily available than ever in smoking areas and tobacco shops across the city,” said City Councilor Imelda.・Mr. Padilla said. “California law allows individuals 18 years of age or older to purchase nitrous oxide, as long as it is not inhaled after purchase.”
In California, purchasing nitrous oxide for the purpose of inhalation is considered a misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in prison, a $1,000 fine, or both.
However, gas sales are permitted for cooking and automobile use. Small containers of nitrous oxide are used to power whipped cream dispensers, and 50-count containers sell for about $26 on Amazon. Specialty auto shops sell gases that increase the amount of oxygen forced into the engine and improve the performance of certain vehicles.
Some TikTok influencers have been spotted promoting businesses selling nitrous oxide canisters in LA.
“This makes enforcement difficult and allows businesses like smoke shops and liquor stores to sell nitrous oxide products,” Padilla said. “Vendors are now even introducing flavored nitrous oxide to shelves. Research shows that adding flavors to medications and colorful packaging play a key role in initiation and continued use among adolescents. I know that.”
Padilla spearheaded the motion along with City Councilor Eunice Hernandez. Hernandez said young people are being deliberately targeted with advertising and lured by flavored “whippet” containers used to dispense whipped cream.
“We’re seeing a lot of these types of activities happening in a lot of public spaces where young people congregate,” Hernandez said. “We have some containers that have been donated by the community as evidence of this work, and the bottles are white, look like whipped cream, have a picture of a peach on them, and smell like peaches.”
Rialto became the first city in the country to ban the illegal sale of nitrous oxide. City Councilman Ed Scott launched a three-year effort to adopt the ordinance after the June 5, 2014 nitrous oxide-related death of his 17-year-old son, Miles “Eddie” Scott. led.
His son was in a 1998 Acura and was inhaling nitrous oxide along with the driver. Around 7:15 p.m., the driver crashed into a tree along Highway 10, killing everyone inside. Scott’s son graduated from Bloomington Christian High School a week before the accident.
“He’s always been a good kid. He’s never been in trouble,” Scott said. “I thought it was odd that there was nitrous oxide in the car, so I looked at his phone and discovered that he had teamed up with other kids to buy this to sell at parties. I realized that I had started.”
Through extensive research, Scott discovered numerous parties in Rialto using nitrous oxide recreationally. He said Rialto police raided a car dealership selling laughing gas to minors.
“Most of the whippets come out of smoke shops, so we started pushing for an ordinance to target smoke shops,” Scott said. “So we banned smokestacks in smoking areas, started going after car dealerships, and our region has better control over smokestacks than most other cities. ”
Rialto’s 2017 ordinance makes the sale of nitrous gas illegal in general, regardless of recreational use, and allows only medical and industrial uses. Violations of the ordinance are punishable by imprisonment, a $1,000 fine, or both.
Scott said the ordinance received general support. Contributed to a reduction in the number of deaths associated with nitrous oxide inhalation.
“We haven’t had any fatalities. We’ve had some accidents and drunk driving, but not too many. It’s definitely made a difference in Rialto,” Scott said. The kids know they’re not toying with it. They have zero tolerance. It’s the same as alcohol or any other drug as far as we’re concerned.”
Dr. Arash Motamed, an anesthesiologist at the Keck Hospital of the University of Southern California, said nitrous oxide has historically been used to render people unconscious, but recreational use of the gas can pose health problems. He said that there is a sex.
“Unless they fall or injure themselves in some way, it’s difficult for someone who uses nitrites recreationally to seriously harm themselves,” Motamed says. “However, it can cause problems with pregnancy, affect the development of neurons in the fetus, and cause problems with the formation of the fetal spinal cord.”
A 2015 study on the recreational risks of nitrous oxide stated that people experience a brief feeling of euphoria after inhaling the gas from a balloon. Side effects include temporary dizziness, dissociation, disorientation, loss of balance, memory and cognitive decline, and leg weakness. People who are heavily inebriated can trip and fall, and there have been reports of deaths due to suffocation.
The Los Angeles City Council faces potential challenges in getting police to enforce the ban. The Los Angeles Police Department’s gang and drug task force said in a statement that it does not currently have a tracking system or enforcement system in place for nitrous oxide. It’s unclear what role the Los Angeles Police Department will play if the ban is approved.
But at the November council meeting, Padilla mentioned two separate fatalities that officials said were related to nitrous oxide use.
Los Angeles Unified School District reported 11 incidents of nitrous oxide possession in the 2023-24 school year. LAUSD Representative Genesis Coronado submitted a written communication supporting Padilla’s push for action.
“We respectfully urge the City Council to vote in favor of the nitrous oxide motion. Our students are already being negatively impacted by the prevalence of fentanyl and other controlled substances,” Coronado said. I wrote it. “As a school district, we rely heavily on the support of our local government partners to address societal challenges that extend beyond our school walls.”
Scott said Los Angeles is moving in the right direction.
“I just think we need to pay more attention. And unfortunately, while adults are selling things and making money, young people are being sacrificed. That’s sad to me. is.”
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