The seizure this week in Malaga of 21,000 liters of what is known as “laughing gas” once again puts the focus on a powerful drug that is in no way comical.
He Ministry of Interior has assured that it is the largest arrest of nitrous oxide in Europe, a gas that was far from being intended for medicinal uses. This week, 21,000 liters of what is known as “laughing gas” puts the focus back on a powerful drug that is not at all comical.
A drug that reaches Spain from the old continent under a false perception of security, so much so that at the time it was even consumed live in the science section of El Hormiguero to show its “fun” effects.
What is “laughing gas”?
It is the colloquial way of calling a person on the street. colorless gasalmost odorless and sweet taste whose real name is nitrous oxide. An element used as a drug in medicine for about two hundred years for its anesthetic and analgesic propertiesbut which has ended up being used as drug especially for the younger audience.
What uses does it have in medicine?
This gas is used in operating rooms and clinics from all over the country, and a search on the internet is enough to find dozens of dental centers where it is offered to patients as a way to better cope with certain treatments that can be long or especially painful. It is also used in the operating room in certain surgeries to maintain anesthesia.
How does medical gas reach the street?
He nitrous oxide It is very easy to acquire through almost any commercial channel, since this gas is used in baking as a propellant in cream dispensers due to its emulsifying properties. This makes it easy to acquire, in a totally legal way, boxes with small bottles of this gas for a price that does not exceed the euro for each capsule.
Who usually consumes this drug?
According to the data we have of the European Drug Addiction Observatory “Laughing gas” is the favorite drug of young people between 16 and 24 years oldespecially in countries like United Kingdom, Belgium and Holland. Its easy access to it, the very economical price and the perception that it is something safe are behind its high consumption.
What effects does it have on those who consume it?
When consumed by airway, the drug reaches the brain in just under a minute. Whoever consumes it will feel a feeling of well-being, great relaxation, altered perception, dizziness… something similar to an instant drunkenness since it is a depressant of the central nervous system. Its effects will normally last between 15 and 45 minutes, depending mainly on the amount inhaled and the concentration of gas in the balloon.
What damage does it cause to health?
When someone inhale nitrous oxide of a balloon at a party is completely unaware of the amount of gas being breathed, this added to the fact that he is not doing it in a controlled environment where his vital signs are monitored since he has generally ingested alcohol previously, makes its consumption life-threatening.
Damage to health ranges from hallucinations up to cardiac arrestincluding asphyxiation, amnesia, disorientation, neurological problems due to spinal cord damage, fainting, arrhythmias, seizures… In the United Kingdom this drug has claimed the life of a twenty young people in recent years.
Its consumption in Spain
We have recorded the first fatality due to the consumption of this gas in the year 2021 in Marbella, where a 26-year-old Swede celebrating a bachelor party lost his life after consuming it. Its use was initially limited to nightlife areas frequented by young Europeans in Balearic Islands, Costa del Sol and Costa Brava, where even certain nightclubs offer this gas inside party balloons under the name of hippy crack as if it were just another drink. But in recent years its use has spread to the rest of the country.
