Teens use 'food substance' to get high

In the baking aisle of some supermarkets and retailers like Walmart, you’ll find brightly labeled pressurized whipped cream flavoring. Teens are buying these canisters, but baking is the last thing on their minds. Nitrous oxide, a major component in this product, is used to get a quick high. 

Radio 101 student reporters Trey, Calli and Macy looked into how this formerly niche drug, also called laughing gas and whip-its, has found its way into retailers and all over social media. 

“We would call it legally ambiguous. You can have it out there, you're just not supposed to use it for the ways that people are using it to get high,” says RT Ferrell, a marketing expert, and an R.J. Reynolds High School parent. 

Galaxy Gas is one of the leading nitrous oxide brands. It’s marketed as pressurized whipped cream flavoring that should only be used for culinary purposes. Unlike in England, where officials classified the gas as a Class C drug last year, no similar regulations have been passed here in the United States. According to the Food and Drug Administration, “The ingredient is used in food with no limitations other than current good manufacturing practice.” 

Inhaling the gas cuts off oxygen to the brain, giving users a quick high accompanied by feelings of elation. “I think it's appetizing to a kid because it's quick and easy, and you can do it once and you can be done,” says Forsyth County Health Educator Annie Vasquez. 

Consequences of using nitrous include memory loss, a weakened immune system, and even paralysis, which can be reversed if treated immediately according to the Yale School of Medicine. 

According to a 2019 survey, almost 13 million Americans, 12 and older have used nitrous oxide incorrectly in their lifetime. The colorful packaging and appealing flavors are not doing much to curve this trend. Social media users have also normalized inhaling nitrous from the canisters. At the same time, awareness of long-term side effects is growing, thanks to other users who are speaking out about their experiences of paralysis.

Some states, including North Carolina, have banned recreational use of the gas.