The government’s ban on nitrous oxide comes into force today (Wednesday 8th November, 2023) and possession of the drug is now a criminal act in the United Kingdom. Drug Science’s founder, Professor David Nutt, says: “We believe the ban is wrong. It is completely disproportionate to nitrous oxide’s harms. It will place a new burden …
By Professor David Nutt Placing Nitrous Oxide in the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 Yesterday Michael Gove announced the government’s plan to make the selling of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (MDAct1971). The justification for this planned change in the law is to reduce its use in public …
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) is collecting written evidence regarding the health and social harms of nitrous oxide. Background In 2015 the ACMD considered the emerging issue of nitrous oxide abuse. In 2021, the then Home Secretary commissioned the ACMD to conduct an updated health and social harms assessment and whether …
This Parliamentary briefing has been prepared by DrugScience, The Global Drug Survey, Release and Transform Drug Policy Foundation. Recreational use of nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide is a gas that was discovered in the late 1800s by UK scientists Priestley and Davy, the latter being President of the Royal Society. At the time nitrous oxide …
Professor David Nutt sits down with Fiona Measham, Anna Wade & Janine Milburn for an in depth look into why drug testing is so vital at festivals and beyond. Topics discussed include; Janine’s views following her daughters accidental overdose, how drug testing works at The Loop’s facilities, tackling the idea that the practice sends ‘mixed messages’, …