Laughing gas will be banned in the country from the new year. From 1 January 2023, laughing gas will be on the soft drug list of the Opium Act, which means that it will then be prohibited to have or sell laughing gas. With the ban, the cabinet wants to reduce the recreational use of laughing gas. Professional use of laughing gas remains permitted.
“The laughing gas ban helps the police enormously in enforcement. With the ban, having laughing gas with you becomes a criminal offense in itself,” Minister Dilan Yesilgöz (Justice and Security) responds to the ban. “With the ban, the police will be able to take immediate action if someone has non-professional laughing gas in their possession and has balloons with gas bottles in their car. Hopefully we can prevent accidents.”
Several parties in the city council wanted in April 2021 already a ban on laughing gas in the city. An important reason for the parties was that the number of accidents had increased significantly in recent years. “From 130 incidents in 2017, to 1390 in 2019,” said Sofyan Mbarki.
Legal use
The Council of State asked the cabinet to explain why less drastic measures than a ban would not be enough. The government decided that because of the major risks of laughing gas use, the ban was necessary and important to have it come into force as soon as possible.
The cabinet has announced that the ‘original uses’ of nitrous oxide will remain permitted. This concerns, for example, medical nitrous oxide, nitrous oxide intended for technical purposes or as an additive to foodstuffs. For this, opium exemption must be applied for by the manufacturers and wholesalers.