What happens if you get caught selling nitrous oxide?

Some volatile substances are covered by the 2016 Psychoactive Substances Act, which means it’s illegal to give away or sell. There’s no penalty for possession, unless you’re in prison. Supply and production can get you up to 7 years in prison, an unlimited fine or both.

What are the risks of using nitrous oxide?

Side effects of N2O include transient dizziness, dissociation, disorientation, loss of balance, impaired memory and cognition, and weakness in the legs. When intoxicated accidents like tripping and falling may occur. Some fatal accidents have been reported due to due to asphyxia (hypoxia).

Does nitrous oxide damage brain cells?

Prolonged exposure to nitrous oxide may result in: memory loss. vitamin B12 depletion (long-term depletion causes brain and nerve damage)

How much is too much nitrous oxide?

For chronic exposure to nitrous oxide, it is recommended that the maximum exposure be 20 parts per billion (expressing a ratio between nitrous oxide and breathable air), and for acute exposures, no more than 100 parts per billion for one hour.

Is nitrous oxide addictive?

Pharmacologic evidence that nitrous oxide is addictive through direct interaction with the endogenous opioid system includes the possibility that it is a partial agonist and acts at the mu, kappa, and sigma opioid receptors.

Do people get addicted to nitrous oxide?

What are the health risks of nitrous oxide?

Nitrous oxide users unaware of health risks, nurses warn. Metal canisters used to contain nitrous oxide, discarded by users in Solihull. Young people who use nitrous oxide, commonly known as “laughing gas”, to get high are running huge risks with their health, including paranoia, breathing problems and even death, nurses have warned.

Is it safe to use nitrous oxide as a recreational drug?

Recently, however, the popularity of using nitrous oxide as a recreational drug has become “widespread.” Research has discovered that continued exposure to nitrous oxide (beyond medical uses) has damaging neurological effects because of what the gas does to vitamin B12.

What is the history of nitrous oxide abuse?

According to the Practical Neurology journal, the abuse of nitrous oxide has been going on almost since the drug itself was synthesized back in 1772. For a long time, it was misused primarily by medical and dental professionals who had access to the gas as part of their practice.

Can you develop a tolerance to nitrous oxide?

Nitrous Oxide Abuse Effects In 1994, researchers writing in the Brain Research Bulletin journal noted that rats exposed to nitrous oxide developed a tolerance for the drug; that is, they became used to the behavioral effects of nitrous oxide and subsequently needed larger amounts of the gas in order to enjoy the same effects.