A review commissioned by the government has stopped short of recommending a ban on laughing gas after examining the dangers of the substance.
The independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) was asked by the Home Office in 2021 to provide advice on whether to make possession of nitrous oxide a crime.
It came after the government said there had been a “concerning” rise in use of the gas among young people, with the substance the second most-used drug among 16 to 24-year-olds.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said last week that the review was being carried out more quickly after a Sky News investigation revealed there had been a spike in hospital admissions due to use of the gas.
Although the review has not called for a ban, it has recommended the Home Office and other government departments consider providing additional powers for police to curb use, such as confiscating canisters or paraphernalia.
But it adds that in doing so, departments should also examine the “unintended consequences” of this move.
Ministers were earlier this year reported to be planning to ban the sale and possession of laughing gas as part of a bid to tackle anti-social behaviour.
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Under the proposals, drug misuse laws would be updated to allow people found with nitrous oxide gas in public to be prosecuted, according to The Times.
Ministers also had concerns about health problems caused by use of the drug.
Acute exposure to the gas can lead to anaemia and nerve damage, and it has also been linked to fertility issues.
The investigation by Sky News revealed how easy the drug is to buy and spoke to someone who had been hospitalised with a spinal cord abnormality after using the substance.
Musa, not his real name, woke up in the night to go to the toilet and fell to the floor.
He couldn’t get back up again because he’d lost feeling in his legs and feet.
In the weeks before, Musa was consuming multiple large canisters of nitrous oxide, almost on a daily basis.
His MRI scan showed the spinal cord abnormality and doctors can’t yet tell to what extent this will repair.
“This could be a permanent thing. It’s messed up my life. I’ve got dreams and ambitions,” Musa said.
Read more: How laughing gas addiction ‘messed up’ man’s life
Ban could create ‘significant burden for legitimate uses’ of the gas
In its updated assessment published on Monday, the ACMD has said the substance “should not be subjected to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971”.
It concluded that the sanctions of offences under the act would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with nitrous oxide and that such control could create “significant burdens” for legitimate uses of the substance.
Examples of legitimate use cited in the report include as an anaesthetic in medical and dental contexts and as a gas for whipped cream in cooking.
Non-legitimate use of nitrous oxide is currently controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which the council said “remains the appropriate legislation”.
This means the production, supply and importation of nitrous oxide for its psychoactive effects is illegal, but not possession.
What other recommendations are in the report?
The report also suggests pursuing “universal prevention activity” focused on nitrous oxide – such as education resources for young people and schools, a national campaign reporting the health risks of heavy use, and information made available in settings where use is more common, such as festivals.
Interventions should also include tackling non-legitimate supply of the drug, for example restricting direct-to-consumer sales, curbing the volume of sales customers can purchase, closing down websites selling the substance for non-legitimate uses and curbing online sales of associated paraphernalia, the report says.
“No single recommendation on its own is likely to be sufficient to successfully reduce the harms associated with nitrous oxide use,” the report concludes.
The prime minister addressed the issue of laughing gas use in his new year’s speech earlier this month, hitting out at anti-social behaviour and highlighting the blight of discarded “nitrous oxide canisters in children’s playgrounds”.
