Council of State opposes plan to ban sale of laughing gas
Ministers announced they planned to include laughing gas in the opium law at the end of 2019
Monday, July 18, 2022
The Council of State, which examines and makes recommendations about all new draft legislation in the Netherlands, says the government should not introduce a ban on the sale of laughing gas (nitrous oxide) as planned. The measure would be too far reaching because the gas has many legal uses, including pain relief, the council said. A ban would also be difficult to police. The government plans to include laughing gas on its official list of soft drugs, alongside marijuana. That would make the possession, trade and production of the drug a crime, although users would not be prosecuted. Instead, the Council of State recommends the government look into less far-reaching measures to deal with the health risks attached to prolonged laughing gas use. This could include better monitoring and information provision.
