‘Galaxy Gas’ Inhalation Abuse is on the Rise as Nitrous Oxide is Marketed to America’s Youth
Part of the appeal is that the containers are painted with bright colors and bubbly logos, and the gas comes in a variety of different “flavors”
One legacy of the Biden-Harris administration is the expansion of the illegal drug selection to include particularly nasty substances intended for America’s young.
As an example, let’s take a look at the emerging “laughing gas” market.
The inhalation of laughing gas (i.e., nitrous oxide), usually in small amounts from balloons or cartridges referred to as whippets, for recreational purposes has been known since the 18th century.
The colorless gas can be found in cans of whipped cream and other common household items. Nitrous oxide is also sold in cartridges or canisters over the counter, and can be found frequently in vape shops. One brand that is particularly referenced in videos by nitrous oxide users is “Galaxy Gas.”
Though the material is technically legal to buy, recreational use of nitrous oxide is not legal. And its sale to minors is completely illegal.
The 2021 Global Drug Survey also lists it as the 13th most popular recreational drug in the world. The desire of young Americans to escape realities in today’s economic environment, paired with their hopes of being social media stars, has led to making the recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide becoming even more prevalent.
But due to deepening concern from both police and public health professionals, its distribution is just starting to be banned as cases of abuse are on the rise.
Nitrous oxide abuse is on the rise and easy to access. So much so, states have been taking steps to ban the sale of related products. A recent College Station arrest report highlights just how easy it is to get the compressed gas that some are using as a recreational substance to get high.
The cans are often referred to as whippets or whip-its.
College Station police arrested three people on Tuesday after a traffic stop led to the discovery of ketamine and a one-liter canister of nitrous oxide. The gas is commonly used as a food additive for whipped cream or in a medical setting.
In this case, the officer located the compressed gas, also known as “Galaxy Gas.” The suspects told officers it was purchased at a vape shop in town and they intended to inhale it.
KBTX spoke with Bryan attorney Shane Phelps who warned that even though the items are purchased legally, using them illegally will lead to an arrest. Especially if the compressed gas falls into the hands of a minor.
“It’s so unregulated through vape shops and things like that. You don’t know what’s in there. Just because they sell it over the counter doesn’t make it safe,” Phelps advised. “I think these vape stores have to be very careful ‘cause they can lose their licenses and even be prosecuted.”
Between the lack of controls and social media, “Galaxy Gas” has become increasingly popular among America’s youth.
A meme around Galaxy Gas whippets formed after Twitter user @FearedBuck posted a video of a young man in a fast food restaurant taking a hit from a canister before saying “My name Lil T man” and explaining where he’s from in a deep voice. TikTokers found this hilarious and used the trending soundbite in their own videos.
The phrase “my name Lil T man” may also be found randomly in the comments on TikTok videos about using Galaxy Gas whippets or other forms of nitrous oxide huffing.
🚨 NEW DANGEROUS TREND: Kids are getting hooked on a new drug/ stimulant that is killing their brain cells, that’s GALAXY GAS (@GalaxyGas24) aka WHIPPETS which is a NITRO OXCIDE (NO2 GAS) equivalent to LAUGHING GAS.
When inhaled, nitrous oxide impacts the brain by reducing… pic.twitter.com/sp9iasVLFl
— Sir Maejor 🇺🇸 (@SirMaejorATL) September 4, 2024
Part of the appeal is that the containers are painted with bright colors and bubbly logos, and the gas comes in a variety of different “flavors.” However, the compulsion for the high can rapidly turn into an addiction, as a father of a 18-year-old attested.
Users, grappling with its allure, say the drug “hits like crack cocaine,” leaving families and communities in the throes of addiction and health risks.
The appeal of nitrous oxide lies in video-game-like packaging and on-demand gratification, described by one user who says, “It’s instant. It’s right there. And then it’s gone in a couple of minutes.”
The candy-like flavors, like blueberry-mango and vanilla-cupcake, contribute to a craving for the fleeting high.
…Greg Combel has seen it firsthand. He believes his daughter started abusing nitrous oxide when she was 18 years old.
“This stuff has taken over my daughter and everything that she ever knew,” Combel says. “She only did a little bit at a time, maybe parties and stuff like that. And it grew to be a very big problem. Genuine addiction.”
While recreational users of nitrous oxide may claim that it is a “safe high,” most are unaware that excessive consumption has the potential to be harmful to the nervous system and kidneys. If left untreated, permanent neurological damage and kidney failure can occur. Other side effects of abuse include memory loss, incontinence, weakened immune system, and psychosis.
This video takes a good look at the current state of whippet abuse, which also covers the biochemistry associated with inhalation of nitrous oxide in vivid detail.
Clearly, the illegal drug market is one of the few that has boomed under Bidenomics.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
First of all, those tiny containers will never successfully scratch that itch-you need a 55 lb blue tank without sulfur dioxide added….
WWJD? (What would Jerry do ?) 🙂
N20 displaces oxygen. Before Garcia died there were tales of a couple of guys thought rolling the windows up on a NIssan 2-door pickup and cracking the valve was a good idea . Darwin award.
I have heard of persistent users waking up numb and having a long road to recovery
I pulled a David Crosby and lost my taste for this shit more than 25 years ago. Most of the listed adverse effects are exceedingly rare, but whether my escaping the consequences was a matter of physiology, an act of God, or other YMMV
Jerry would steal a tank of NO² from the dental supply business, get some punching bag balloons, eat grilled cheese and sell balloons of nitrous for $5 in the parking lot before the show.
The whippet fad is always around among high school kids. In my day, kids did them at parties and used to fool around emptying the whipped cream cans out in the supermarket aisles.
Personally, I never liked nitrous. I did it a coule of times and that was it. I always put it on a level with sniffing glue (though it’s obviously not as bad).
Uh … ketamine is SERIOUSLY messed up stuff. The ketamine is the issue in this case. Nitrous is “kid’s play” compared to Ketamine 🙂
You misspelled “Deadheads…” 🙂
Yeah whippets ain’t new. Folks used it when I was in College in the early ’90s. Always seemed stupid to me then and now but Jim Beam, Coors and Marlboro Lights were my drugs of choice at the time and alcohol and tobacco ain’t exactly good for you…. they just have a better set of lobbyists paying off the politicians and an agreement with the State/Feds getting their cut in taxes.
Really never needed to steal it
You just can’t hold a candle to today’s youth.
“Laughing gas”; does that phrase bring to mind any currrent political candidate?
A “laughing a$$”?
VP Hyena?
Now we know why she cackles.
Whippet out!
So we have people of border line intelligence getting dumber.
When a good time turns around (you must whip it)
You will never live it down (unless you whip it)
No one gets away (until they whip it)
‘need to escape economic’?! No goofball it has nothing to with economics: it is right behavior and moral failing. Duh
Is of interest to note that nitrous oxide is the only gas from the early discovery of Anesthesia still in clinical use.
Getting together to inhale nitrous upside has been going on since the 1800s.
Laughing gas parties, and later ether frolics were a popular form of drug abuse.
The stated side effects in the article are extremely rare.
Really the only danger is inhaling a hypoxic gas mixture when using 100%
N2O.
That can cause brain damage.
A fixed mixture of 50% nitrous oxide in 50% oxygen has become very popular for sedation in plastic surgeons offices for minor surgery and for patient controlled pain relief during childbirth.
What makes it so safe is the fixed concentration of 50% oxygen along with a mask that has no straps.
If The patient becomes unconscious, they drop their arms, and the mask falls away from the face.
Nitrous oxide has over a century of safe use, so the hysteria over side effects is unwarranted.
I do see in the video, the kids inhaling it while sitting behind the wheel of a car.
We’re they to start driving that could be fatal.