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Queensland MP Joe Kelly will demand the Crisafulli government launches an inquiry into the sale and branding of “laughing gas” for rampant recreational use after a nitrous oxide dispenser was found near a Brisbane primary school.
The Labor member for Greenslopes has advocated for reforms for months but said he was appalled by the 3.3-litre vessel found just 50 metres from a school in his electorate in Brisbane’s south, with colourful branding and blatant references to drug abuse, such as: “experience heaven on earth”.
Nangs are more readily available and sold.Credit: 9News Perth
Nitrous oxide, referred to colloquially as “nangs”, is typically used medically for pain management or in the hospitality industry for cooking.
It has long been associated with recreational use, but Kelly said the increased access of the equipment was having devastating consequences on Brisbane youths.
Blatant nang dispensers sold in Brisbane.
He warned those addicted to nangs could suffer mental health issues such as psychosis, as well as physical damage such as numbness as well as frostbite.
Its use strips the body of key vitamins, which can lead to damage to the body’s nervous system.
A Brisbane father, who did not want to be identified, said his teen son had suffered health issues after becoming addicted to nangs.
He told this masthead the boy was consuming up to seven litres of the substance at the height of the addiction, and supported calls for the restrictions to the access of nitrous oxide and associated equipment.
“He ended up going to the hospital with psychosis, he was in the children’s hospital for about three to four weeks,” the dad told this masthead.
“It’s a no-brainer for tighter legislation in terms of the supply.”
Kelly told this masthead he had been given permission by the Speaker to display the nangs dispenser when he addressed Queensland Parliament on Thursday afternoon.
“The people I’ve been supporting [in my electorate] are heavily addicted and it’s already caused psychosis,” he said.
“They’ve been hospitalised multiple times. It strips vitamin K out of your body, and so that causes permanent ongoing neurological damage – you would end up, effectively, with symptoms similar to MS or Parkinson’s disease.”
The Labor MP will call on Health Minister Tim Nicholls to task the health committee, of which Kelly is a member, to conduct an inquiry and consider legislative changes.
He said proposed laws, which have been adopted in SA and WA, could limit the access of nitrous oxide to hospitality industry professionals.
Kelly also flagged possible branding reforms that would restrict retailers from pitching the product for recreational use.
The aggressive online sales of the product for 24/7 delivery was also a concern for the MP, who said the industry operated similar to other food or alcohol delivery operators.
Nangs pushed on to Brisbane kids through text messages.
This masthead has seen texts from a retailer known as NangsDelivery.com that pushes the product on users with promotions, selling with free delivery throughout the night with products such as a 4.5-litre “mega tank”.
Kelly wrote to the health minister in May pleading with Nicholls to consider reforms that would limit the sale of the products.
In a written response in July, seen by this masthead, Nicholls said Queensland Health was “actively exploring additional regulatory options to strengthen public health and community safety”.
But he also said there was existing legislation that said nitrous oxide was regulated for therapeutic use as well as separate laws aimed at those selling potentially harmful products to people who they reasonably believed might misuse a product.
Kelly told this masthead the response was insufficient.
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