Orange County Supervisors Ban Recreational Sale of Laughing Gas

In a decisive effort to curb the recreational misuse of Nitrous Oxide, the Orange County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted in February 2025 to ban its sale in unincorporated areas.

When Orange County Board of Supervisors Vice Chair Katrina Foley researched the abuse of Nitrous Oxide (NOX), she discovered that the laughing gas addiction is a growing issue across the nation, especially among Americans between the ages of 16-years-old and 25.

“That’s when your brain is developing, so it’s a very bad time to be ingesting such a thing,” she told OrangeCountyLawyers.com.

Foley has represented the fifth district since 2023.

Also known as whippets, NOX is colorless and professionally used to sedate patients during dental and medical procedures that are minor but painful, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

Once Foley realized a loophole in state law allowed the recreational sale of NOX canisters and chargers in smoke shops, liquor stores and other retailers while being illegal to possess, she took action.

Foley began a crusade to ban and criminalize the sale of the substance and two months ago, the Board of Supervisors unanimously approved her proposal.

Nitrous Oxide is Often Sold Over the Counter at Retail Stores

“Most people didn’t know it’s illegal to possess because they were buying it at a regular retail store,” Foley said. “They were buying it at a smoke shop, at Walmart or Target and it’s extremely harmful to your health.”

A National Survey on Drug Use and Health report found that more than 13 million Americans have misused Nitrous Oxide in their lifetimes and the FDA issued a warning against inhaling NOX products in March 2025.

“These products are marketed as both unflavored and flavored Nitrous Oxide canisters and are sold as a food processing propellant for whipped cream and culinary food use,” the FDA website states. “Intentional misuse or inhalation of contents can lead to serious adverse health events, including death.”

Orange County residents are encouraged to report the illegal sale of NOX canisters and chargers at places like smoke shops by calling (714) 834-3550 or visiting the website at bit.ly/noxoc.

Violations of the new law will be prosecuted as misdemeanors with $1,000 fines or six months in the county jail sentences or both.

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“Enforcement would be a combination of working with code enforcement and law enforcement,” Foley said.

Under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, Orange County Health Officer Dr. Chinsio-Kwong is drafting a report on Nitrous Oxide use/misuse countywide based on a survey sent to healthcare agencies, law enforcement, first responders and other partners.

“We received 700 survey responses back,” Foley said. “It was one of the highest number of responses to a survey that they’ve done in a while.”

Although its illegal to possess and now illegal to sell recreational Nitrous Oxide in Orange County’s unincorporated areas, it remains available for sale statewide in other cities as well as medically from medical distributors and suppliers.

“There are some legitimate uses for it that don’t involve a person sucking on a nozzle or inhaling it,” Foley added. “Everyone is familiar with dental offices using laughing gas but they use it in combination with oxygen and it’s medically supervised in very limited amounts.”

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