Producers and sellers of recreational nitrous oxide are giving this dangerous product a false sheen of safety and regulation when the harsh reality is frost-bite injuries, irreversible brain damage and even death. And these bad actors in retail stores and event parking lots across the state are not alone. Colorado has documented problems with illegal psilocybin-laced products that made customers sick, THC products sold outside of licensed and regulated stores and kratom, an addictive drug, being sold openly at kava bars.
Denver Post reporters John Aguilar and John Wenzel chronicled this week the easy availability of nitrous oxide — laughing gas — across the Denver metro area. Colorado lawmakers and municipal leaders must take action.
Khalil Simon, leader of a brass band that frequents concert venues to busk for tips, spoke out bravely in The Denver Post about the problem he sees growing at every event.
“I know Colorado’s drug-friendly, but I didn’t know it would blow up like this. Kids are losing their brain cells now that it’s been rebranded,” Simon said. “It’s way worse than weed or anything like that. It straight up makes you dumb.”
Because these products are being marketed and sold by retail stores, users often overlook the dangers, assuming the drugs must be regulated by one of America’s consumer protection agencies like the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Aurora City Council took the first step this week by cracking down on the open market for nitrous oxide. Convenience stores, vape shops, and head shops sometimes have open displays of nitrous oxide canisters for sale with clever marketing names that are clearly targeting abusers of the product.
Even before the new ordinance passed, The Denver Post followed city officials who were confiscating products suspected of being marketed for illegal use or containing regulated substances from several shops.
This is an important step to protect Coloradans.
Denver City Council should follow.
Lawmakers across the nation have long regulated nitrous oxide. The intent of Colorado law is that laughing gas only be sold to medical professionals and to those wishing to use it for non-consumptive use, like cooking.
Police can save lives and protect teens if they enforce these laws by confiscating canisters of nitrous oxide and issuing tickets. This will be a good start to sending a signal to users and sellers that this dangerous drug will not be tolerated in Colorado.
Officials also shouldn’t stop with nitrous oxide. Although laughing gas poses the most imminent danger to users – death by asphyxiation – kratom is addictive and can also be dangerous for users, causing liver toxicity and seizures, according to the FDA. Yet it is a product openly advertised for sale across the state.
Colorado Senators Kyle Mullica, Byron Pelton and Representatives Mandy Lindsay and Matt Soper passed clear and comprehensive regulations of kratom this year that fell short of banning the sale of the plant-based product, but did at least notify users of the risks and create common dosage requirements.
Coloradans have long held libertarian views of drug use, and our liberal laws make it more important than ever to keep dangerous products out of the hands of teens and to make certain that users know the risks. And some drugs simply should not be abused recreationally because the risks are too great.
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