Nitrous oxide: Laughing gas to be illegal by end of year - eviltoast

There will be exemptions for legitimate uses of nitrous oxide, for example in medical or catering industries. The gas is commonly used as a painkiller and for producing whipped cream in cooking.

  • cruel_excess@lemmy.world
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    1 year ago

    So, according to the article, supplying Nitrous for recreational use is already illegal. If it is such a big problem, what is banning possession going to do other than ruin more lives? It is kind of wild that this is the solution they came up with given the history of drug prohibition worldwide and the fact that UK is one of the originators of harm reduction.

    Sigh… making the same mistakes and expecting different results when plenty of research out there shows that treating poverty and depression does more to reduce drug use and other risky/antisocial behaviour than putting people in jail for it.

    The article also mentions that the majority of people who use it are between 16 and 24 years old. Great way to end up with hardened criminals down the line.

    • thehatfox@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Most of our political establishment is still in complete denial about the failure of the war on drugs. They keep doubling down on prohibition because they can’t accept it doesn’t work.

      I’m not sure what or who it will take to wake up Westminster to the reality. Those few that have tried to change the course, such as David Nutt, have had little success. The Liberal Democrats still have cannabis legalisation as a policy, but it wouldn’t surprise me if they step back from that as they eye up more traditionally Tory seats (if they haven’t already).

      • Echo Dot@feddit.uk
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        1 year ago

        I wish they would just make cannabis legal, and then just not make a big thing of it. It’s such a non-policy when you think about it, “oh we’re going to stop criminalising people who’ve barely done anything wrong, aren’t we wonderful”.

        They view every policy as something that will either gain them votes or lose them votes so the idea of just doing something quietly is alien to them.

    • ilikekeyboards@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      It’s alright though. All these can users are all white kids. Can’t believe this foreign owned government to start a drug war against a race that’s not not white