All it takes is a quick inhalation from a balloon or a whipped cream canister, and you get a sudden rush of euphoria — a perfectly legal and relatively inexpensive way to get your high.
More and more young people in Europe are using nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas. In the Netherlands, the nitrous oxide business is booming. But addiction experts are concerned.
Mathieu Hoelzken is an entrepreneur who is determined to make money from the growing popularity of laughing gas. He claims that his Fake Air store, in the city of Venray, is the “first real laughing gas shop in the Netherlands.” There, the 48-year-old sells hits from a balloon.
The cost? Less than six dollars. Hoelzken’s customers can enjoy their buzz on old theatre seats, as a smiley face emoji with tears in its eyes from laughing looks at them from the wall — the store’s logo.
But Venray’s mayor isn’t laughing. “We can’t do a lot about it, just warn people that there are risks,” says Hans Gilissen.
According to a Dutch report on addiction, one in five people between the age of 20 and 24 have tried laughing gas, and it’s growing more popular as an affordable, easy party drug with the under-35 age group.
With the increase in the number people using laughing gas in the Netherlands, there has also been an increase in the problems that come with it.
Daily reminders come in the form of dozens of discarded metal capsules or balloons in car parks, along the streets, in parks. Experts say there are also health risks: Poisonings have risen sharply, says the National Poisons Information Centre in Utrecht. Nitrous oxide poisoning can lead to dizziness, nausea and even paralysis. There were 13 cases reported for all of 2015, while there were 67 incidents in the first half of 2019 alone.
More and more cities are sounding the alarm and calling for a ban, and the Health Ministry is looking into possible regulation. Nitrous oxide has been available legally since 2016 and can be found in common household items like whipped cream dispensers.
A decision by the European Court of Justice ruled that it no longer falls under the laws regulating powerful medical drugs, though dentists still use it in small quantities as an anaesthetic.
After inhaling the gas, users get a short high, lasting for one minute at the most. They report feeling stronger sensory impressions and tingling across their whole body. Some giggle uncontrollably.
The party drug is relatively harmless with “average consumption” of five to 10 capsules per month, according to health officials. However, when combined with alcohol or other drugs, and especially with excessive consumption, the gas can cause permanent damage to the central nervous system.
That’s troubling amid the recent reports about the poisonings, which say some Dutch people use up to 50 capsules a day over a long period. Nitrous oxide capsules can be bought online or in some supermarkets, not to mention all the speciality stores that have recently popped up. A big package comes with 200 capsules for 50 euros.
In Amsterdam, Deniz Uresin is the laughing gas king. With a fleet of roughly 10 delivery bicycles, he sells his wares to customers in the bar districts. “I make a ridiculous amount of money,” he says.
His couriers sells nitrous oxide-filled balloons that customers inhale right on the street. The 25-year-old entrepreneur also gives his customers good advice, free of charge: “It’s better to sit when you inhale, otherwise you’ll fall and need to get first aid.”
But Amsterdam has had enough of the party drug. Businesses and residents have complained about the noise, the bawdy groups of young men and the trash on the streets. Other communities also are behind a ban.
The Netherlands isn’t the only place have trouble with nitrous oxide. In Denmark, the number of abuse cases is also on the rise, say authorities. The telephone hotline for poisonings counted 18 reported incidents in 2017, which more than doubled in 2018 to 39 reported cases. – dpa
