Wollongong nangs delivery: Cream bulb party drug delivery services running on Facebook
Inhaling nangs has been blasted by police as a “flat-out stupid” move, but that hasn’t stopped several online “shops” from delivering the party drug to Wollongong doorsteps.
Illawarra Star
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Nangs, whippits and hippy crack. That’s drug slang for a small, unassuming silver canister of nitrous oxide that young people in the Illawarra are buying online as easily as a pizza delivery and using for nefarious purposes.
The canisters, which provide a quick high, are being used as a cheap party drug, and are becoming easier than ever to access in the Illawarra, with several delivery services popping up online.
While inhaling nangs can cause irreversible brain damage and even death, people are buying them in the hundreds from online “shops” set up on Facebook, with some of them selling the canisters for less than a dollar each.
In the Wollongong region alone, there are at least four different Facebook sites selling the canisters, as well as Gumtree ads and Reddit threads.
All three of the sites sell nangs for less than a dollar per canister, with one Facebook store selling a 200 pack of the canisters for $165, while another has offered up to 20 free nangs if purchased mid week.
While the Drugs Misuse and Trafficking Act states “psychoactive substances” can’t be sold
“knowing it was to be used for human consumption”, the sites haves posted memes or photos with drug innuendo, however often refer to “baking cakes” or “whipping cream”.
In messages seen by the Illawarra Star, it was revealed nang delivery comes at an extra cost “based on location”. One site in particular told a customer they “prefer cash payment” but would accept bank transfer. The seller also told the customer to meet the delivery driver at the pick-up location, and retrieve the nangs through the driver’s side window.
With long-term side effects of nangs including memory loss, brain and nerve damage, and psychosis, NSW Police Drug and Firearms Squad Commander Detective Superintendent John Watson said police were becoming concerned about their misuse.
“To suggest it might be okay to inhale gas from a cream whippet or bulb is worse than naive – it’s flat-out stupid,” Det Supt Watson said.
“There is plenty of information out there warning about the abuse of nitrous oxide – noting side effects that include sudden death.
“Clearly, this type of behaviour is hazardous to your health and at some point, common sense needs to prevail,” Det Supt Watson said.
Nangs users “crack” the cartridge in a whipped cream or soda siphon and inhale the contents, a move University of Wollongong senior lecturer Dr Julaine Allan said could cause a myriad of health problems, including incontinence and throat burns.
“Selling nitrous oxide or the whipped cream canisters for use that’s not to do with whipped cream is illegal, but we know there are businesses that have started up that will deliver to peoples’ homes,” she said.
“Any drug is a concern, but (we know nitrous oxide) is the tenth most commonly used illicit drug in the world, so it is relatively common.
“In the scheme of things, (it’s) not as dangerous as alcohol or heroin but because we don’t know a lot about it, it is of concern,” Dr Allan said.
The University of Wollongong is soon set to begin research into the use of nitrous oxide, including people’s experience with nangs, why they choose to use it, and when.
“The reports of use vary from one nang or canister per session or up to one hundred,” she said. “People might use a couple of times a week or they might use it once or twice a year … but the bottom line is we don’t know a lot about it.”