A LAUGH?
transferred tran to a container such as a balloon to be inhaled.
As of 2016, nitrous oxide is c covered by the Psychoactive Substances Act and is illegal to supply for its psychoa active effect.
Th There’s no penalty for possession sion, unless you’re in prison. Sup Supply and production can get you up to seven years in jail, an unl unlimited fine or both.
Th The Home Office released a st statement saying: “Nitrous ox oxide is covered by the Psycho choactive Substances Act and is illegal to supply for its psych choactive effect.
“However, the Act provides an e exemption for medical products ucts. Whether a substance is cov covered by this exemption is ulti ultimately one for a court to det determine based on the circum cumstances of each individual case case”.
The Royal College of Nursing claims nitrous oxide is often seen as being low risk and offering a short, harmless burst of euphoria. But the Office for National Statistics data shows there were 25 deaths directly linked to the gas between 2010 and 2016.
BBC Radio 2 resident doctor Sarah Jarvis said: “I see them on the floor all the time, by the roadside during lockdown, as well as since.
“I don’t think they are going to be going away any time soon.
“The most recent figures I have are from four years ago from Holland and between 40 and 80% of clubbers and ravers said they were using nitrous oxide because it is cheap, it is readily available because they have got legal uses, and they make you euphoric.
“Really worryingly, if you go on the government’s Ask Frank website, their information site about drugs, what they say is that it is really high pressure, so do not inhale it directly from the canister because it can cause throat spasms and stop you breathing.
“But they also have to warn people that they should not put a plastic bag over their head when they are inhaling it.”
Speaking about the effects of taking the drug, she said: “You come down pretty rapidly, which is why people will use it very regularly.
“We have had fatal accidents because of lack of oxygen. What happens is that if you don’t have enough oxygen which is given straight away after you have the nitrous oxide, then the drug diffuses into the air-containing cavities inside the body faster than the nitrogen can diffuse out. You can literally asphyxiate.”
Talking about the issue of spinal damage, she said: “This is the issue with B12. Vitamin B12 is vital for all sorts of activities. It is essential for your immune system, for your nervous system, for your blood system and for your reproductive system.
“If you end up with a functional B12 deficiency, the reason for that is it inactivates Vitamin B12 components of certain enzymes then it is as if you have pernicious anaemia, and the classic features of that would be that you can’t feel in your lower limbs, you can’t walk properly. If you do an MRI of the spinal cord you get this characteristic feature of only part of the spinal cord.
“These enzymes can start working again, but my feeling is that some of this nerve damage is set to be permanent.”