First they came for the vape pods, then for the menthols. Now, one city official wants to ban the sale of nitrous oxide, colloquially known as Whippits. You know, those whipped cream canisters whose gaseous contents answer the question, “What’s it feel like to have no head?” Its euphoric effects lend it the nickname “laughing gas,” primarily used at your dentist’s office for its anxiolytic and briefly sedating properties. While safer compared to intravenous sedatives, it isn't harmless. Nitrous oxide has long been a part of the party scene, but its legality in San Francisco may soon come to an end.
Whippit: Whippit Good?
The gas was first isolated in 1772 and found use in medicine as a light anesthetic. It wasn’t long before its potential for abuse emerged, as its ready availability and entertaining reputation made it popular among recreational users. A couple centuries later, you can purchase nitrous oxide for relatively cheap and it comes in convenient little canisters. Tanks of laughing gas can supply the whole party. For most get-togethers, you bring a bottle of wine, maybe a couple pre-rolls if you’re wild. Nowadays you might find a frosty tank of nitrous oxide gracing your host’s coffee table.
Experts like the SF Marin Medical Society’s Dr. Sarita Satpathy worry people aren’t aware of the risks, though she understands the appeal.
"Initially, you feel a lot of euphoria," Satpathy told ABC7. “It's called laughing gas. You feel great, you feel relaxed, and people just enjoy that, but nobody truly understands the harmful effects.”
Lady on the right is lit! Image from 1830, creative commons.
Nitrous oxide is difficult to dose outside medical settings. A large hit can leave you feeling dizzy, light-headed, maybe a bit nauseated. Too much can knock you over as you temporarily lose your ability to stand or sit upright. Those funny wah-wahs can collapse into a dark, noiseless void and render you momentarily unresponsive, which friends love. When you wake, you’re likely to have a throbbing headache. That’s just from the oxygen deprivation. Chronic abuse will introduce a new host of complications.
Nitrous oxide is not road-friendly
Nitrous oxide abuse may cause severe nerve damage by interference with the body’s absorption of vitamin B12. Vitamin B12 allows the creation of myelin, an insulative membrane that protects your nerves and ensures communication with your brain. Absent enough myelin, your nerves are unshielded from overstimulation and prone to random electrical firing. B12 deficiency will cause paresthesia (a “pins-and-needles” sensation), numbness in the extremities, even seizures. Nerve damage can extend to the spinal cord and become irreversible. Some people suffer strokes and become paralyzed.
With any drug, supply and price point come second to desirability. For example, Salvia divinorum extract is cheap and legal, although curious customers rarely go back for more of the nightmare sage. But nitrous oxide isn’t scary. What makes it scary are the circumstances and environment people will use laughing gas. Police in Albany, just north of Berkeley, arrested a driver they claim to have witnessed using nitrous oxide. I shouldn’t have to say this but please do not Whippit and drive. Just because it’s funny doesn’t mean it belongs everywhere.
But San Francisco Supervisor Danny Sauter would ban the retail sale of nitrous oxide in the city. Recreational misuse of laughing gas is already outlawed, but people over 18 may purchase it for its culinary purpose. Nitrous oxide is used in the food service industry to whip cream faster than any hand or machine. However, tanks for sale in many SF smoke shops feel more akin to helium tanks, with some selling for up to $150.
This brand name became the metonym by which all nitrous oxide canisters are known, like how we refer to every bandage as a Band-Aid and facial tissues as Kleenexes. Creative commons.
Supervisor Sauter feels the manufacturers of these tanks are specifically targeting young users.
"This is the same playbook from big tobacco, big vape, and they are not turning on this new product, that is colorful, it is called Miami Magic, Cosmic Gas and all the glitter and glamour trying to get kids hooked on this," Sauter told ABC7. Wow.
"I don't want this in front of the kids. We're not early on this, San Jose, San Mateo, Santa Cruz have already outlawed this," Sauter said.
What comes next
If Salty Sauter gets his way, San Francisco’s corner stores and smoke shops could stop selling nitrous oxide as early as this fall. Medical, industrial, culinary, and automotive applications will be exempt. What matters is making sure nobody has any fun seizures. “We're targeting corner stores, gas stations, [and] smoke shops," Sauter said. If true, it’s possible our days of swapping big balloons at flashy parties are numbered.
