Nitrous oxide gas canisters on a street in west London (Kirsty O’Connor/PA)Under the proposals, drug misuse laws could be updated to allow people found with nitrous oxide gas in public to be prosecuted, The Times reported. 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 thePsychoactive 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. “No single recommendation on its own is likely to be sufficient to successfully reduce the harms associated with nitrous oxide use,” the report concludes.

Source: The Times March 06, 2023 19:36 UTC