Laughing gas (nitrous oxide) or What is the second dope to use after marijuana
Content
Nitrous oxide is widely used in medicine, automotive industry, it is even used as an oxidizing agent in rocket engines.
However, it is currently most popular as an intoxicant among young people. According to research, it is the second most used drug in the UK after marijuana among people aged 19 to 24.
A sign of this is the metal “cartridges” lying almost everywhere, similar to those used in siphons, with the difference that the “old” cartridges were filled with CO2. If you didn't know - nitrous oxide today you can buy legally and even with delivery.
What is nitrous oxide or laughing gas?
N2O gas has long been known as a laughing gas, in small doses it causes a feeling of lightness, relieves pain, causes euphoria. Due to these properties, it has found wide use in medicine, mainly for pain relief during dental procedures, injuries, or even childbirth. High concentrations of this gas have a strong hypnotic effect.
Interestingly, unlike most drugs, the tolerance of the human body to the same dose decreases. After prolonged use of this gas, a smaller dose may produce the same effect as at the beginning.
And this is where the "advantages" of this gas end. In the case of prolonged use, this gas blocks the absorption of vitamin B12, which in turn can lead to anemia and neuropathy. Cases of paralysis, bone marrow damage are known. It also negatively affects the ovaries and testicles.
There are known cases of death from hypoxia after an overdose of this gas, very often in combination with alcohol.
The intoxication itself (from one cartridge) lasts a little over 30 seconds.
In July of this year, Welsh police arrested three men aged 16 to 22 who were found to have 1800 bottles of the gas in their car.
Selling this gas to minors is illegal in many countries.
Application
Nitrous oxide, in addition to medicine and the food industry, where it is used to create foam and packaging products (E942), is also very popular in the automotive industry under the name "NOS". It has been seen in the Fast & Furious film series where it was injected into an internal combustion engine to instantly increase its power. This was due to the oxidizing properties of this gas, allowing more of the mixture to be burned. Unfortunately, this effect was short-lived due to the longevity of the engines.
Another application of this property of nitrous oxide is in rocket engines, where it is used as an oxidizing agent.
Nitrous oxide in a bottle
Balloons or, as the Americans call them, whippets are entertainment for those who do not want to get into trouble. The fun is simple and legal, because you need a siphon, a saturator in which you dilute the gas and cartridges of nitrous oxide, which (allegedly) can be ordered in large quantities from wholesalers offering provisions for catering establishments. In addition, balloons, because it is in them, instead of cream, that we inflate the gas, which then needs to be pumped into the lungs, and then ...
Then, as the battle-hardened say, magic must happen. How to deal with it. It is enough to read the description of one of the users of the Hyperreal website, the virtual bible of all experimenters: “This is not funny, anyway, if I laughed while playing with gas, it probably had nothing to do with the substance itself. In fact, the most interesting thing during the session with N2O is the listening experience and the feeling of a strong lift off the ground - the body ceases to exist for a few seconds and this is by far the most interesting moment of the program. This is an experience that anyone who takes a deep enough breath from a balloon will experience. Unfortunately, the fun doesn't last long. We then return to a state of consciousness exactly as we left it a minute ago. No headache, no hangover, no "waste".
How can fun with N2O end?
Nitrous oxide is one of the safest psychedelics. This was already known to Humphry Davy, an explorer who in the 1790s decided to test the properties of the gas on his friends. He gave them all great pleasure for free, he also noticed that after a dozen or two seconds of extremely pleasant hallucinations, we run the risk of a temporary disorientation, from which we will come out more or less as quickly as from a state of intoxication.
You need to know the measure!
Legal access, innocent entertainment and almost zero consequences after using it - this is the biggest plus and, as you might guess, the biggest scourge of those who loved nitrous oxide too much. Everyone probably knows Steve O, one type of Jackass who is addicted to everything: pain, adrenaline, cocaine, and what may seem innocent in this combination - nitrous oxide. In an interview with radio host Howard Stern, he admitted that he liked the Whippets so much that he could sniff out six hundred at a time, and bring himself to a state of complete isolation from reality. "Did the gas cause you to hallucinate?" the radioman asks. “Of course, especially after three days of continuous use,” Steve replies. Don't be like Steve. Live in moderation.
