New law in WA aims to stop young people getting high on nangs

The sale of ‘nangs’ will be banned in one state in a bid to stop young people from misusing the drug.

The sale of “nangs” will be banned in Western Australia when the state government introduces new laws to stop young people from misusing the drug.

It will soon be illegal for retailers, such as vape shops, to buy or sell canisters of nitrous oxide gas, with the exception of registered food or liquor license businesses in WA.

The canisters that contain the dangerous drug are used by restaurants and bars in whipped cream dispensers, and are “cheap and easy” to obtain.

People use nangs to get high, but heavy use of the drug can cause crippling side effects that damage the spinal cord, leaving some users unable to walk.

Last year, Perth woman Molly Day revealed she almost died from long-term use of the drug and was told she would never walk again.

Perth woman Molly Day had to relearn how to walk after her spinal cord deteriorated from using nangs or nitrous oxide gas. Image: Nine News Perth

She spent four months in hospital relearning how to walk after her spinal cord deteriorated from using the drug.

Ms Day told 9News it was the worst four months of her life.

“It was awful,” she said.

“I was bed-bound for about two months of them.”

Ms Day has been calling for the drug to be banned and said it came as a huge relief that new laws would be introduced to prevent people from using it.

“It was worth it,” she said.

In 2020, there were 22 presentations to WA emergency departments related to nitrous oxide, including eight patients with degeneration of the spinal cord.

Nitrous oxide canisters.

University of Western Australia clinical associate professor of emergency medicine David Mountain said numbers had quadrupled over the past 20 years.

“There has been a significant increase in use over time, while it is not the major drug we see in emergency, it is relatively cheap and easy to get,” he said.

The drug can be purchased from many neighbourhood retailers, it is widely distributed and relatively cheap compared to other drugs.

Associate Professor Mountain said they would see patients in children’s emergency departments who had used the drug.

“Because it is relatively cheap, it makes it more attractive to younger people,” he said.

Nitrous oxide is commonly known as laughing gas, and is often used in medicine to dilute blood vessels in patients causing some brain dysfunction.

“It gives people a feeling of euphoria,” Associate Professor Mountain said.

“It has a very short onset and offset, which is why we like it. It is a pump on gas that wears off quickly.

“People also use it a lot of it to get a high, it offloads quickly which is why people tend to use so much of it in a short period of time.”

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson announced it would soon be illegal to buy and sell nangs in WA. Picture: NCA NewsWire /Philip Gostelow

It could also affect the memory and cause vitamin B12 depletion in long-term users or people who used the drug heavily.

“Vitamin B12 depletion can cause brain defects, nerve damage or buzzing in the ears,” Associate Professor Mountain said.

“When people use nitrous oxide with other drugs, they could experience psychosis and psychological long-term dependence.”

Health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said they had listened to parents and clinicians, and would do everything they could to protect children and young people from the dangers of nitrous oxide gas.

“Recreational use and abuse of nitrous oxide poses significant health risks, including permanent brain and spinal cord damage,” she said.

“Parents and community members have also raised significant concerns about the increase in used canisters left littering our parks and playground.

“You are more likely to see nangs in parks than in pantries.”