HIPPY CRACK’S NO LAUGHING MATTER
Boss: Craze fuelling a summer of raving
CROOKS are trying to fuel a summer of illegal raves with “hippy crack”.
And the boss of a firm that produces the laughing gas – or nitrous oxide – says it has become a “huge craze”.
Chris Palmer has reported potential buyers to the police for trying to order tens of thousands of the vials.
And he said: “People are making serious money out of nitrous oxide at the moment.
“They are using nitrous oxide bottles at raves and parties and leave them scattered everywhere. It’s a huge problem for my industry.”
Chris, boss of Manchester-based catering supplier
Carrick, usually sells the product to coffee shops wanting whipped cream for hot chocolate drinks.
He also sells to TV cookery shows such as The
Great British Bake Off and
Saturday Kitchen.
Nasty
But he recently got an order for 38,880 bottles from what claimed to be a coffee shop in Berkshire – enough to keep 39 coffee shops in whipped cream for a whole year.
A Hampshire farm also tried to order a million bottles and a newsagent in Manchester’s student village wanted 20,000 bottles.
Chris said: “It’s ridiculous. I’m getting big orders like this every single day.
“I have to be careful because there are some really nasty people out there who want to get hold of this product. People are making millions from it. It’s a huge craze now.”
A Home Office report said nitrous oxide – which became a classified drug in 2016 – was the second most used drug among 16 to 24-year-olds in 201819 after cannabis.