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Young adults have found another substance to give them a rush, but it's
rushing some to their graves. Ever vulnerable to the unscrupulous
pushers of potions, young people in their late teens and early 20s are
buying laughing gas to get high.
Known on the street as “hippie crack,” the gas is attractive in part because it is non-addictive and inexpensive. Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is not a controlled substance, which means that it's legal to sell or possess it. Small gas canisters called whippets cost as little as 50 cents apiece and are sold with a tool and balloons. The tool is for cracking open the canister and dispensing its contents into the balloons for inhaling, called “huffing.”
Despite the obvious intended use of these items, distributors have skirted the law by labeling their packages, “for food use only.” (Nitrous oxide is the propellant in cans of whipping cream.) However, the death of a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student enabled prosecutors to successfully convict a Phoenix distributor on the technical charge of mislabeling the product.
About a dozen states have attempted to combat misuse of nitrous oxide by legislating stricter labeling and distribution guidelines.
A U.S. federal survey conducted in 1999 showed that its use as a recreational drug had increased 20 percent over the previous year. Nationwide, 6.6 million people had used it at least once. Further, the largest age group among new users was those 35 and older. A number of vendors blatantly sold balloons full of laughing gas at a professional football game tailgate party last fall.
Some readers will recall traveling carnivals that would sell a minute's worth of laughing gas for a few cents to the public. Users would laugh and act silly until the drug wore off, leaving them confused. Even that was probably irresponsible, but today's use is far from humorous.
Today's users sometimes mix it with marijuana and other drugs, seeking to enhance the impact of each. They also will tie a bag around their heads to increase the amount of gas they inhale, which is how the Virginia Tech student died. Nitrous oxide replaces the oxygen in the blood, and a person asphyxiates. Because it is an anesthetic, users are not aware that they are in danger.
The gas can cause people to lose motor control so rapidly that they fall over. A Dateline NBC segment on nitrous oxide huffing showed a Phoenix teenage girl passing out and falling to the ground at a rave party.
Scientists have found that regular use can cause reproductive problems. A 1992 New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that women exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide in their jobs as dental assistants faced a greater risk of infertility. Prolonged use is also believed to damage the bone marrow and the nervous system, due to a diminished ability to process vitamin B-12.
Sources: The Arizona Republic ; www.drweil.com
Known on the street as “hippie crack,” the gas is attractive in part because it is non-addictive and inexpensive. Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) is not a controlled substance, which means that it's legal to sell or possess it. Small gas canisters called whippets cost as little as 50 cents apiece and are sold with a tool and balloons. The tool is for cracking open the canister and dispensing its contents into the balloons for inhaling, called “huffing.”
Despite the obvious intended use of these items, distributors have skirted the law by labeling their packages, “for food use only.” (Nitrous oxide is the propellant in cans of whipping cream.) However, the death of a 20-year-old Virginia Tech student enabled prosecutors to successfully convict a Phoenix distributor on the technical charge of mislabeling the product.
About a dozen states have attempted to combat misuse of nitrous oxide by legislating stricter labeling and distribution guidelines.
A U.S. federal survey conducted in 1999 showed that its use as a recreational drug had increased 20 percent over the previous year. Nationwide, 6.6 million people had used it at least once. Further, the largest age group among new users was those 35 and older. A number of vendors blatantly sold balloons full of laughing gas at a professional football game tailgate party last fall.
Some readers will recall traveling carnivals that would sell a minute's worth of laughing gas for a few cents to the public. Users would laugh and act silly until the drug wore off, leaving them confused. Even that was probably irresponsible, but today's use is far from humorous.
Today's users sometimes mix it with marijuana and other drugs, seeking to enhance the impact of each. They also will tie a bag around their heads to increase the amount of gas they inhale, which is how the Virginia Tech student died. Nitrous oxide replaces the oxygen in the blood, and a person asphyxiates. Because it is an anesthetic, users are not aware that they are in danger.
The gas can cause people to lose motor control so rapidly that they fall over. A Dateline NBC segment on nitrous oxide huffing showed a Phoenix teenage girl passing out and falling to the ground at a rave party.
Scientists have found that regular use can cause reproductive problems. A 1992 New England Journal of Medicine study revealed that women exposed to high levels of nitrous oxide in their jobs as dental assistants faced a greater risk of infertility. Prolonged use is also believed to damage the bone marrow and the nervous system, due to a diminished ability to process vitamin B-12.
Sources: The Arizona Republic ; www.drweil.com
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