Content deleted Content added
Thumperward (talk | contribs) →Environmental impact: likewise |
Tres Libras (talk | contribs) m Undid edits by 2600:8800:8121:2A00:B4D6:531:9646:92A0 (talk) to last version by Entranced98: nonconstructive edits |
||
| (10 intermediate revisions by 8 users not shown) | |||
Line 122:
}}
'''Nitrous oxide''' (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as '''laughing gas''', '''nitrous''', or '''factitious air''', among others,<ref name="pubchem">{{Cite web |publisher=PubChem, US National Library of Medicine |title=Nitrous oxide |date=14 September 2024|url=https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/948 |access-date=20 September 2024 |language=en}}</ref> is a [[chemical compound]], an [[Nitrogen oxide|oxide of nitrogen]] with the [[Chemical formula|formula]] '''{{chem|N|2|O}}'''. At room temperature, it is a colourless [[Flammability#Definitions|non-flammable]] [[gas]], and has a slightly sweet scent and taste.<ref name=pubchem/> At elevated temperatures, nitrous oxide is a powerful [[Oxidising agent|oxidiser]] similar to molecular oxygen.<ref name=pubchem/>
Nitrous oxide has significant [[Nitrous oxide (medication)|medical uses]], especially in [[surgery]] and [[dentistry]], for its [[Anesthesia|anaesthetic]] and [[Analgesic|pain-reducing]] effects,<ref name="ACB 2020">{{cite journal |author1-last=Quax |author1-first=Marcel L. J. |author2-last=Van Der Steenhoven |author2-first=Timothy J. |author3-last=Bronkhorst |author3-first=Martinus W. G. A. |author4-last=Emmink |author4-first=Benjamin L. |date=July 2020 |title=Frostbite injury: An unknown risk when using nitrous oxide as a party drug |journal=Acta Chirurgica Belgica |publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]] on behalf of the Royal Belgian Society for Surgery |volume=120 |issue=1–4 |pages=140–143 |doi=10.1080/00015458.2020.1782160 |issn=0001-5458 |pmid=32543291 |s2cid=219702849}}</ref> and it is on the [[WHO Model List of Essential Medicines|World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines]].<ref name="WHO21st">{{cite book |last1=Organization |first1=World Health |title=World Health Organization model list of essential medicines: 21st list 2019 |publisher=World Health Organization |year=2019 |location=Geneva |hdl=10665/325771 |hdl-access=free}}</ref> Its colloquial name, "laughing gas", coined by [[Humphry Davy]], describes the [[Euphoria|euphoric]] effects upon inhaling it, which cause it to be used as a [[recreational drug]] inducing a brief "[[Dissociative|high]]".<ref name="ACB 2020"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Turner |first=Sally |date=2024-08-30 |title=Nitrous-Oxide: What is it good for? |url=https://www.drugscience.org.uk/nitrous-oxide-what-is-it-good-for |access-date=2024-10-03 |website=Drug Science |language=en}}</ref> When abused chronically, it may cause neurological damage through inactivation of [[Vitamin B12|vitamin B<sub>12</sub>]]. It is also used as an oxidiser in [[rocket propellant]]s and [[auto racing|motor racing]] fuels, and as a [[Aerosol spray#Aerosol propellants|frothing gas]] for whipped cream.
Nitrous oxide is also an [[Air pollution|atmospheric pollutant]], with a concentration of 333 [[Parts-per notation|parts per billion]] (ppb) in 2020, increasing at 1 ppb annually.<ref name="agage" /><ref name="noaaesrl" /> It is a major scavenger of [[ozone layer|stratospheric ozone]], with an impact comparable to that of [[chlorofluorocarbon|CFCs]].<ref name="sciozo"/> About 40% of human-caused emissions are [[Greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture#Nitrous oxide emissions|from agriculture]],<ref name="HTian">{{cite journal |last1=Tian |first1=Hanqin |last2=Xu |first2=Rongting |last3=Canadell |first3=Josep G. |last4=Thompson |first4=Rona L. |last5=Winiwarter |first5=Wilfried |last6=Suntharalingam |first6=Parvadha |last7=Davidson |first7=Eric A. |last8=Ciais |first8=Philippe |last9=Jackson |first9=Robert B. |last10=Janssens-Maenhout |first10=Greet |date=October 2020 |title=A comprehensive quantification of global nitrous oxide sources and sinks |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2780-0 |url-status=bot: unknown |journal=Nature |language=en |volume=586 |issue=7828 |pages=248–256 |bibcode=2020Natur.586..248T |doi=10.1038/s41586-020-2780-0 |issn=1476-4687 |pmid=33028999 |hdl=1871.1/c74d4b68-ecf4-4c6d-890d-a1d0aaef01c9 |s2cid=222217027 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203131716/https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-2780-0 |archive-date=3 December 2020 |access-date=2020-11-09|hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{cite journal |author=Thompson, R. L. |author2=Lassaletta, L. |author3=Patra, P. K. |title=Acceleration of global N<sub>2</sub>O emissions seen from two decades of atmospheric inversion |journal=Nat. Clim. Change |year=2019 |volume=9 |issue=12 |pages=993–998 |doi=10.1038/s41558-019-0613-7|bibcode=2019NatCC...9..993T |s2cid=208302708 |url=http://pure.iiasa.ac.at/id/eprint/16173/2/N2O_paper_SI_revision2_v1.docx|hdl=11250/2646484 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> as nitrogen fertilisers are digested into nitrous oxide by soil micro-organisms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-13 |title=Reduce nitrous oxide emissions |url=https://www.agmatters.nz/goals/reduce-nitrous-oxide/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |website=Ag Matters |language=en}}</ref> As the third most important [[greenhouse gas]], nitrous oxide substantially contributes to [[global warming]].<ref name="ipccar5">{{cite book |url=https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg1/ |contribution= Chapter 8 |title=AR5 Climate Change 2013: The Physical Science Basis |pages=677–678}}</ref><ref name="physorg">{{cite news |title=Nitrous oxide emissions pose an increasing climate threat, study finds |language=en |work=phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2020-10-nitrous-oxide-emissions-pose-climate.html |access-date=2020-11-09}}</ref> Reduction of emissions is an important goal in the [[politics of climate change]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mundschenk |first=Susanne |date=3 August 2022 |title=The Netherlands is showing how not to tackle climate change {{!}} The Spectator |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-netherlands-is-showing-how-not-to-tackle-climate-change |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=www.spectator.co.uk |language=en}}</ref>
== Discovery and early use ==
Line 143:
One of the earliest commercial producers in the U.S. was [[George Poe]], cousin of the poet [[Edgar Allan Poe]], who also was the first to liquefy the gas.<ref name="wp">{{cite news|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/243050292.html?dids=243050292:243050292&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=FEB+03%2C+1914&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=GEORGE+POE+IS+DEAD&pqatl=google|title=George Poe is Dead|date=3 February 1914|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=29 December 2007|archive-date=1 March 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130301050848/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost_historical/access/243050292.html?dids=243050292:243050292&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=FEB+03%2C+1914&author=&pub=The+Washington+Post&desc=GEORGE+POE+IS+DEAD&pqatl=google}}</ref>
The first time nitrous oxide was used as an [[anaesthetic]] drug in the treatment of a patient was when dentist [[Horace Wells]], with assistance by [[Gardner Quincy Colton]] and [[John Mankey Riggs]], demonstrated insensitivity to pain from a [[dental extraction]] on 11 December 1844.<ref name="Discovery of Wells">{{Cite journal|year=1933|title=The Discoverer of Anæsthesia: Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford.|journal=The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine|volume=5|issue=5|pages=421–430|pmc=2606479|pmid=21433572|last1=Erving|first1=H. W.}}</ref> In the following weeks, Wells treated the first 12 to 15 patients with nitrous oxide in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], and, according to his own record, only failed in two cases.<ref name="Horace Wells">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exNtlBi8T4EC|title=A history of the discovery, of the application of nitrous oxide gas, ether, and other vapours, to surgical operations|publisher=J. Gaylord Wells|year=1847|author=Wells H}}</ref> In spite of these convincing results having been reported by Wells to the medical society in [[Boston]] in December 1844, this new method was not immediately adopted by other dentists. The reason for this was most likely that Wells, in January 1845 at his first public demonstration to the medical faculty in Boston, had been partly unsuccessful, leaving his colleagues doubtful regarding its efficacy and safety.<ref name="Discovery of anaesthesia">{{cite journal|year=2007|title=The discovery of modern anaesthesia-contributions of Davy, Clarke, Long, Wells and Morton|url=http://www.ijaweb.org/text.asp?2007/51/6/472/61183|journal=Indian J Anaesth|volume=51|issue=6|pages=472–8|vauthors=Desai SP, Desai MS, Pandav CS}}</ref> The method did not come into general use until 1863, when Gardner Quincy Colton successfully started to use it in all his "Colton Dental Association" clinics, that he had just established in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]] and [[New York City]].<ref name="Drug discovery" /> Over the following three years, Colton and his associates successfully administered nitrous oxide to more than 25,000 patients.<ref name="use in dentistry" /> Today, nitrous oxide is used in dentistry as an anxiolytic, as an adjunct to [[Local anesthetic|local anaesthetic]].▼
Nitrous oxide was not found to be a strong enough anaesthetic for use in major surgery in hospital settings, however. Instead, [[diethyl ether]], being a stronger and more potent anaesthetic, was demonstrated and accepted for use in October 1846, along with [[chloroform]] in 1847.<ref name="Drug discovery" /> When [[Joseph Thomas Clover]] invented the "gas-ether inhaler" in 1876, however, it became a common practice at hospitals to initiate all anaesthetic treatments with a mild flow of nitrous oxide, and then gradually increase the anaesthesia with the stronger ether or chloroform. Clover's gas-ether inhaler was designed to supply the patient with nitrous oxide and ether at the same time, with the exact mixture being controlled by the operator of the device. It remained in use by many hospitals until the 1930s.<ref name="use in dentistry" /> Although hospitals today use a more advanced [[anaesthetic machine]], these machines still use the same principle launched with Clover's gas-ether inhaler, to initiate the anaesthesia with nitrous oxide, before the administration of a more powerful anaesthetic.▼
Colton's popularisation of nitrous oxide led to its adoption by a number of less than reputable [[Quackery|quacksalvers]], who touted it as a cure for [[tuberculosis|consumption]], [[Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis|scrofula]], [[catarrh]] and other diseases of the blood, throat and lungs. Nitrous oxide treatment was administered and licensed as a [[patent medicine]] by the likes of [[C. L. Blood]] and Jerome Harris in Boston and Charles E. Barney of Chicago.<ref name="alleged">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3461701/alleged_forgery/|title=Alleged Forgery|date=1877-09-28|page=8|author=<!--Staff writers; no byline.-->|newspaper=[[The Inter Ocean]]|access-date=2015-10-26}}</ref><ref name="man">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3461943/dr_blood_and_the_sawtelles/|title=A Man of Ominous Name|date=1890-02-19|author=<!--Staff writers; no byline.-->|newspaper=[[The Inter Ocean]]|access-date=2015-10-26}}</ref>▼
==Chemical properties and reactions==
Line 257 ⟶ 263:
Nitrous oxide may be used as an [[oxidizing agent|oxidiser]] in a [[rocket]] motor. Compared to other oxidisers, it is much less toxic and more stable at room temperature, making it easier to store and safer to carry on a flight. Its high density and low storage pressure (when maintained at low temperatures) make it highly competitive with stored high-pressure gas systems.<ref>{{cite web|author=Berger, Bruno |date=5 October 2007 |url=http://www.spl.ch/publication/SPL_Papers/N2O_safety_e.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.spl.ch/publication/SPL_Papers/N2O_safety_e.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live |title=Is nitrous oxide safe? |publisher=Swiss Propulsion Laboratory |pages=1–2 |quote=...Self pressurizing (Vapor pressure at 20°C is ~50.1 bar...Nontoxic, low reactivity -> rel. safe handling (General safe ???)...Additional energy from decomposition (as a monopropellant: ISP of 170 s)...Specific impulse doesn't change much with O/F...[page 2] N{{ssub|2}}O is a monopropellant (as H{{ssub|2}}O{{ssub|2}} or Hydrazine...)}}</ref>
In a 1914 patent, American rocket pioneer [[Robert Goddard]] suggested nitrous oxide and gasoline as possible propellants for a liquid-fuelled rocket.<ref>Goddard, R. H. (1914) "Rocket apparatus" {{US patent|1103503}}</ref> Nitrous oxide has been the oxidiser of choice in several [[hybrid rocket]] designs (using [[solid fuel]] with a liquid or gaseous oxidiser). The combination of nitrous oxide with [[hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene]] fuel has been used by [[SpaceShipOne]] and others. It also is notably used in [[amateur rocketry|amateur]] and [[high power rocket]]ry with various plastics as the fuel.
Nitrous oxide may also be used as a [[monopropellant rocket|monopropellant]]. In the presence of a heated [[catalyst]] at a temperature of {{convert|577|C}}, {{chem|N|2|O}} decomposes exothermically into nitrogen and oxygen.<ref>[http://spg-corp.com/nitrous-oxide-safety.html Nitrous Oxide Safety]. Space Propulsion Group (2012)</ref> Because of the large heat release, the catalytic action rapidly becomes secondary, as thermal [[Chain reaction|autodecomposition]] becomes dominant. In a vacuum thruster, this may provide a monopropellant [[specific impulse]] (''I''{{ssub|sp}}) up to 180 s. While noticeably less than the ''I''{{ssub|sp}} available from [[hydrazine]] thrusters (monopropellant, or [[Bipropellant rocket|bipropellant]] with [[dinitrogen tetroxide]]), the decreased toxicity makes nitrous oxide a worthwhile option.
Line 272 ⟶ 278:
The technique was used during [[World War II]] by [[Luftwaffe]] aircraft with the [[GM-1]] system to boost the power output of [[aircraft engine]]s. Originally meant to provide the Luftwaffe standard aircraft with superior high-altitude performance, technological considerations limited its use to extremely high altitudes. Accordingly, it was only used by specialised planes such as high-altitude [[reconnaissance aircraft]], [[schnellbomber|high-speed bombers]] and high-altitude [[interceptor aircraft]]. It sometimes could be found on Luftwaffe aircraft also fitted with another engine-boost system, [[MW 50]], a form of [[Water injection (engine)|water injection]] for aviation engines that used [[methanol]] for its boost capabilities.
One of the major problems of nitrous oxide oxidant in a reciprocating engine is excessive power: if the mechanical structure of the engine is not properly reinforced, it may be severely damaged or destroyed. It is important with nitrous oxide augmentation of [[petrol engine]]s to maintain proper and evenly spread [[operating temperature]]s and fuel levels to prevent [[pre-ignition]] (also called detonation or spark knock).<ref>Cline, Allen W. (January 2000) [http://www.contactmagazine.com/Issue54/EngineBasics.html "Engine Basics: Detonation and Pre-Ignition"]. ''CONTACT!'' Magazine</ref> However, most problems associated with nitrous oxide come not from excessive power but from excessive pressure, since the gas builds up a much denser charge in the cylinder. The increased pressure and temperature can melt, crack, or warp the piston, valve, and cylinder head.
Automotive-grade liquid nitrous oxide differs slightly from medical-grade. A small amount of [[sulfur dioxide]] ({{chem|SO|2}}) is added to prevent substance abuse.<ref name="Automotive gas">{{cite web|url=https://www.holley.com/support/faq/?category=NOS |work=Holley |title=Holley performance products, FAQ for Nitrous Oxide Systems |access-date=18 December 2013}}</ref>
Line 287 ⟶ 293:
Also, cooking spray, made from various oils with [[lecithin]] [[emulsifier]], may use nitrous oxide [[propellant]], or alternatively food-grade [[ethanol|alcohol]] or [[propane]].
▲The first time nitrous oxide was used as an [[anaesthetic]] drug in the treatment of a patient was when dentist [[Horace Wells]], with assistance by [[Gardner Quincy Colton]] and [[John Mankey Riggs]], demonstrated insensitivity to pain from a [[dental extraction]] on 11 December 1844.<ref name="Discovery of Wells">{{Cite journal|year=1933|title=The Discoverer of Anæsthesia: Dr. Horace Wells of Hartford.|journal=The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine|volume=5|issue=5|pages=421–430|pmc=2606479|pmid=21433572|last1=Erving|first1=H. W.}}</ref> In the following weeks, Wells treated the first 12 to 15 patients with nitrous oxide in [[Hartford, Connecticut]], and, according to his own record, only failed in two cases.<ref name="Horace Wells">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=exNtlBi8T4EC|title=A history of the discovery, of the application of nitrous oxide gas, ether, and other vapours, to surgical operations|publisher=J. Gaylord Wells|year=1847|author=Wells H}}</ref> In spite of these convincing results having been reported by Wells to the medical society in [[Boston]] in December 1844, this new method was not immediately adopted by other dentists. The reason for this was most likely that Wells, in January 1845 at his first public demonstration to the medical faculty in Boston, had been partly unsuccessful, leaving his colleagues doubtful regarding its efficacy and safety.<ref name="Discovery of anaesthesia">{{cite journal|year=2007|title=The discovery of modern anaesthesia-contributions of Davy, Clarke, Long, Wells and Morton|url=http://www.ijaweb.org/text.asp?2007/51/6/472/61183|journal=Indian J Anaesth|volume=51|issue=6|pages=472–8|vauthors=Desai SP, Desai MS, Pandav CS}}</ref> The method did not come into general use until 1863, when Gardner Quincy Colton successfully started to use it in all his "Colton Dental Association" clinics, that he had just established in [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]] and [[New York City]].<ref name="Drug discovery" /> Over the following three years, Colton and his associates successfully administered nitrous oxide to more than 25,000 patients.<ref name="use in dentistry" /> Today, nitrous oxide is used in dentistry as an anxiolytic, as an adjunct to [[Local anesthetic|local anaesthetic]].
▲Nitrous oxide was not found to be a strong enough anaesthetic for use in major surgery in hospital settings, however. Instead, [[diethyl ether]], being a stronger and more potent anaesthetic, was demonstrated and accepted for use in October 1846, along with [[chloroform]] in 1847.<ref name="Drug discovery" /> When [[Joseph Thomas Clover]] invented the "gas-ether inhaler" in 1876, however, it became a common practice at hospitals to initiate all anaesthetic treatments with a mild flow of nitrous oxide, and then gradually increase the anaesthesia with the stronger ether or chloroform. Clover's gas-ether inhaler was designed to supply the patient with nitrous oxide and ether at the same time, with the exact mixture being controlled by the operator of the device. It remained in use by many hospitals until the 1930s.<ref name="use in dentistry" /> Although hospitals today use a more advanced [[anaesthetic machine]], these machines still use the same principle launched with Clover's gas-ether inhaler, to initiate the anaesthesia with nitrous oxide, before the administration of a more powerful anaesthetic.
▲Colton's popularisation of nitrous oxide led to its adoption by a number of less than reputable [[Quackery|quacksalvers]], who touted it as a cure for [[tuberculosis|consumption]], [[Mycobacterial cervical lymphadenitis|scrofula]], [[catarrh]] and other diseases of the blood, throat and lungs. Nitrous oxide treatment was administered and licensed as a [[patent medicine]] by the likes of [[C. L. Blood]] and Jerome Harris in Boston and Charles E. Barney of Chicago.<ref name="alleged">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3461701/alleged_forgery/|title=Alleged Forgery|date=1877-09-28|page=8|author=<!--Staff writers; no byline.-->|newspaper=[[The Inter Ocean]]|access-date=2015-10-26}}</ref><ref name="man">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3461943/dr_blood_and_the_sawtelles/|title=A Man of Ominous Name|date=1890-02-19|author=<!--Staff writers; no byline.-->|newspaper=[[The Inter Ocean]]|access-date=2015-10-26}}</ref>
===Medical===
Line 373 ⟶ 368:
Nitrous oxide has also been implicated in [[ozone depletion|thinning the ozone layer]]. A 2009 study suggested that {{chem|N|2|O}} emission was the single most important ozone-depleting emission and it was expected to remain the largest throughout the 21st century.<ref name="sciozo">{{cite journal|doi=10.1126/science.1176985 |title=Nitrous Oxide (N{{ssub|2}}O): The Dominant Ozone-Depleting Substance Emitted in the 21st Century|year=2009|last1=Ravishankara|first1=A. R.|last2=Daniel|first2=J. S.|last3=Portmann|first3=R. W. |journal=Science |volume=326 |issue=5949 |pages=123–5|pmid=19713491 |bibcode = 2009Sci...326..123R |s2cid=2100618|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|last=Grossman |first=Lisa |date=28 August 2009 |url=https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17698-laughing-gas-is-biggest-threat-to-ozone-layer.html |title=Laughing gas is biggest threat to ozone layer |magazine=New Scientist}}</ref>
== Legality ==
{{
Transfer of nitrous oxide from bulk cylinders to smaller, more transportable E-type, 1,590-litre-capacity tanks<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ohiomedical.com/UserFiles/File/Medical+Gas+Cylinder+Data.pdf|title=Ohio Medical|website=www.ohiomedical.com|access-date=20 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417223630/http://www.ohiomedical.com/UserFiles/File/Medical%20Gas%20Cylinder%20Data.pdf|archive-date=17 April 2016}}</ref> is legal when intended for medical anaesthesia.▼
▲
The [[New Zealand Ministry of Health|Ministry of Health]] has warned that nitrous oxide is a prescription medicine whose sale or possession without a prescription is an offense under the Medicines Act.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderton |first=Jim |date=26 June 2005 |url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |title=Time's up for sham sales of laughing gas |publisher=Beehive.govt.nz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108015457/http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |archive-date=8 January 2015 }}</ref> This would seemingly prohibit all non-medicinal uses of nitrous oxide, although it is implied that only recreational use will be targeted.▼
▲The [[New Zealand Ministry of Health|Ministry of Health]] has warned that nitrous oxide is a prescription medicine whose sale or possession without a prescription is an offense under the Medicines Act.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderton |first=Jim |date=26 June 2005 |url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |title=Time's up for sham sales of laughing gas |publisher=Beehive.govt.nz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108015457/http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |archive-date=8 January 2015 }}</ref> This would seemingly prohibit all non-medicinal uses of nitrous oxide, although it is implied that only recreational use will be targeted.
In August 2015, the [[Lambeth London Borough Council|Council]] of the [[London Borough of Lambeth]] ([[United Kingdom|UK]]) banned the use of the drug for recreational purposes, making offenders liable to an on-the-spot fine of up to £1,000.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-33955823 |title=Lambeth Council bans laughing gas as recreational drug |work=BBC News |date=17 August 2015 |access-date=17 August 2015 }}</ref> In September 2023, the UK Government announced that nitrous oxide would be made illegal by the end of the year, with possession potentially carrying up to a two-year prison sentence or an unlimited fine.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-05 |title=Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas to be illegal by end of year |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-66718165 |access-date=2023-09-05}}</ref>
Possession of nitrous oxide is legal under [[United States]] federal law and is not subject to [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] purview.<ref name="ccle">{{cite web |url=http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |title=US Nitrous Oxide Laws (alphabetically) Based on a search of online free legal databases. Conducted May 2002 |publisher=Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124114346/http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |archive-date=24 January 2008 }}</ref> It is, however, regulated by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] under the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act; prosecution is possible under its "misbranding" clauses, prohibiting the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide for the purpose of [[recreational drug use|human consumption]] without a proper medical license. Many states have laws regulating the possession, sale and distribution of nitrous oxide. Such laws usually ban distribution to minors or limit the amount that may be sold without special license.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} For example, in California, possession for recreational use is prohibited and qualifies as a misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=381b&lawCode=PEN |title=California Penal Code § 381b |publisher=[[California Office of Legislative Counsel]]|date=1984|access-date=October 27, 2024 }}</ref>▼
▲Possession of nitrous oxide is legal under federal law and is not subject to [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] purview.<ref name="ccle">{{cite web |url=http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |title=US Nitrous Oxide Laws (alphabetically) Based on a search of online free legal databases. Conducted May 2002 |publisher=Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics |access-date=27 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124114346/http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |archive-date=24 January 2008 }}</ref> It is, however, regulated by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] under the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act; prosecution is possible under its "misbranding" clauses, prohibiting the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide for the purpose of [[recreational drug use|human consumption]] without a proper medical license. Many states have laws regulating the possession, sale and distribution of nitrous oxide. Such laws usually ban distribution to minors or limit the amount that may be sold without special license.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} For example, in California, possession for recreational use is prohibited and qualifies as a misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?sectionNum=381b&lawCode=PEN |title=California Penal Code § 381b |publisher=[[California Office of Legislative Counsel]]|date=1984|access-date=October 27, 2024 }}</ref>
==See also==
| |||