Legislature unanimously approves state ban on nitrous oxide

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A bill banning general sale of nitrous oxide, better known as laughing gas, is headed to the Governor’s desk after being unanimously passed by the Louisiana Legislature. Dr. Mark Ryan, longtime director of Louisiana’s Poison Control center, says the seemingly harmless drug poses a big threat.

“What we’re seeing is people who are not only taking large doses, but it… it almost seems like an addiction like crack or meth. They get hooked on this stuff and they repeatedly do it, and sometimes they’re doing it tens, dozens, a hundred times a day,” said Ryan.

Nitrous oxide is available to the general public for usages such as making homemade whipped cream. But Ryan says it is that availability, combined with the drug’s high abuse potential, that makes it so dangerous. According to him,“[it’s] kind of a party drug, a recreational thing. Once people get hooked on it, they — like I said — can take tons of hits a day. And now, you can buy these very large canisters with some kind of cute leading name on places on the Internet, including Amazon.”

Because of the way the drug affects the body, Ryan says there is no easy and quick cure for an overdose of nitrous oxide. In fact, he notes that nitrous oxide overdoses are particularly scary to treat, saying, “it’s kind of crossing your fingers — how long have they been doing it, how much damage has been done? — as to how long it may take for them to recover if they completely recover. So it is potentially very dangerous.”

If Governor Jeff Landry signs this bill, Louisiana would become the first state to completely ban public sale of nitrous oxide with exemptions for industries reliant on the drug, such as dentistry.

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