Sen. Jim Nielsen’s ban on nitrous oxide takes another step forward

Barbara Lodge, a California mother of two, pleaded with the state Senate Public Safety Committee on March 26 to help other parents avoid the anguish she endured.

Lodge’s 25-year-old son suffers from sustained brain damage because of a prior addiction to nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide, a legal chemical used in dentist's offices, is also used as a recreational drug by adolescents. The gas can cause dizziness, hallucinations, sound distortion, pain relief and euphoric effects. Recreational users generally inhale the drug with whippits.

Whippits, eight-gram containers of nitrous oxide usually used to fill whipped cream dispensers and balloons, can be purchased by people 18 and over.

State Sen. Jim Nielsen (R-Tehama) wants to end those sales.

He is the author Senate Bill 193, which would ban smoke and tobacco shops from selling nitrous oxide in California. If it becomes law, those convicted of the misdemeanor two times would also risk losing their business license.

“Nitrous oxide is a legal chemical for legitimate use, but when abused, it is extremely lethal,” Nielsen said in a news release. “Young people buy and inhale this gas to get high because they mistakenly believe it is a safe substance.”

Existing law prohibits possession of nitrous oxide with the intent to inhale.

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a source cited in Nielsen’s press release, use of nitrous oxide can lead to “death from lack of oxygen to the brain, altered perception and motor coordination, loss of sensation, limb spasms, blackouts caused by blood pressure changes, and depression of heart muscles functioning.”

“Nitrous oxide is horribly addictive, very much affecting individuals,” Nielsen said at the March 26 committee hearing. “In some cases, hundreds of canisters have been found with individuals who use them.”

Lodge’s son was one of those people. She showed the Public Safety Committee images of hundreds of nitrous oxide cartridges found in his car.

Lodge explained that nitrous oxide became her son’s drug of choice in 2015 when he made a startling discovery. Nitrous oxide is 100 percent undetectable on drug tests.

After battling with addiction for years, Lodge’s son finally stopped using after an intervention. However, his mother still deals with a constant fear.

“Although my son has committed to a life of sobriety, the reality is that any day or night, he can walk into any smoke/tobacco shop and be tempted to buy everything he needs to resume using this deadly drug,” Lodge said.

A 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health reported that 11.8 million participants misuse the "deadly drug." Nielsen predicts this number will decrease if the bill becomes part of California law.

The bill was unanimously approved by the Senate Public Safety Committee and the Senate Committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development. The latter took place last Monday.

The bill now moves on to the Senate Appropriations Committee for another review.

Cigz and Stogies and The Dungeon, two of Chico’s most prominent tobacco shops, did not seem worried about the proposed bill.

The Dungeon owner Rick Sid said his shop would not be affected at all.

“Not a hot item,” Sid said. “Not an item that sells every day.”

Cigz and Stogies clerk Youssef Saoud agreed.

“Once in a while, but not often,” Saoud said when asked how frequently his clientele buys whippits.

Both Sid and Saoud could not recall a time they had heard a complaint about the drug.

“None, besides getting addicted to whipped cream and strawberries,” Sid joked.

Ultimately, Nielsen intends to target the drug’s availability to the public regardless of the type of addiction it causes.

“By virtue of the bill, we are simply limiting the access to the nitrous oxide, and that will be good for humankind,” Nielsen said.