Laughing gas to be banned under Government plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the inappropriate sale and use of the substance will be forbidden to stop public areas becoming drug-taking 'arenas' - Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the inappropriate sale and use of the substance will be forbidden to stop public areas becoming drug-taking 'arenas' - Jeff Overs/BBC/PA
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Laughing gas will be banned against expert advice under Government plans to crack down on anti-social behaviour, a Cabinet minister has confirmed.

Communities Secretary Michael Gove said the inappropriate use of the substance will be forbidden to stop public areas becoming drug-taking “arenas”.

Ministers have decided to press ahead with the move against the recommendation of the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).

The Government clarified that possession of the substance will be made an offence, while controls on retailers will be tightened up to prevent supply for misuse.

Asked whether nitrous oxide would be banned, Mr Gove told Sky News’ Sophy Ridge On Sunday programme: “Yes.”

He said: “I think any of us who have had the opportunity to walk through our parks in our major cities will have seen these little canisters, these silver canisters which are examples of people not only despoiling public spaces but also people taking a drug which can have a psychological and neurological effect and one that contributes to anti-social behaviour overall.”

Labour backed the decision, with shadow culture secretary Lucy Powell telling Ridge: “I think we want to see it banned as well because I think it does cause a huge amount of littering, of disruption and of anti-social behaviour challenges as well.”

'Drug-taking arenas'

Mr Gove said ministers had not yet decided which drug classification level would apply to the substance.

“We want to make sure the sale and use can be restricted for its appropriate purpose,” he said.

“We can’t have a situation, we mustn’t have a situation where our parks, our public spaces become drug-taking arenas. And that is why we need to crack down on new manifestations of drug taking and these laughing gas canisters are an increasing scourge and one that has been reported to me as a constituency MP.”

He accepted that ministers had been advised not to ban the drug, but said the Government had taken a different view - opting to make it illegal under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

“It is the case that we need to be clear that there are types of activity, particular types of activity that cause distress to others in public which are unacceptable,” he said.

“Of course it is absolutely right that we uphold the law in this case.

“Yes, the advisory committee offered their advice, but ultimately it is ministers who are responsible.

'Vital that we deal with this scourge'

“And we believe collectively that it is absolutely vital that we deal with this scourge and in the same way.”

Following a Government-commissioned review, the ACMD said the substance “should not be subjected to control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971”.

It concluded that the sanctions for offences under the act would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with the drug, and that such control could create “significant burdens” for its legitimate uses - such as for anaesthetic purposes and as a gas for whipped cream in cooking.

The non-legitimate sale of nitrous oxide is currently controlled under the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016, which the council said “remains the appropriate legislation”.

This means the production, supply and importation of the drug for its psychoactive effects is illegal, but not possession.

Mr Gove - who has previously admitted taking cocaine - said he had learned through his own experience that it was a “mistake” to “regard drug taking as somehow acceptable”.

Asked whether some might view ministers’ stance on laughing gas as “hypocritical” if they had confessed to taking illegal substances in the past, he told Ridge: “No, I think it is because I have learned... that it is a mistake - worse than a mistake - to regard drug taking as somehow acceptable.”

A Government spokesman said: “We are concerned about the rise in health and social harms of nitrous oxide and how widely available it is to the public, particularly to young people. Therefore, we are banning nitrous oxide.

“We are for the first time making possession of nitrous oxide an offence; preventing supply for misuse by putting tighter controls on retailers; and giving greater powers to law enforcement to take action against those who are in breach.”