Translated material
A law banning the sale of laughing gas has been approved in the Vladimir region."
The Vladimir region was the first Russian region to pass a law banning the sale, distribution and use of so-called “laughing gas” - nitrous oxide, the press service of the regional legislative assembly reported on Thursday.
Deputies of the regional parliament made this decision the day before at the next session. Illegal distribution of laughing gas will now be punishable by a fine of 4 to 100 thousand rubles. Fines from 3 to 4 thousand rubles have been introduced for the use of nitrous oxide.
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Vladimir Kiselev noted that “sellers are hiding the truth about the harmful effects of inhaling nitrous oxide.” “After consulting with doctors, we found out how dangerous this gas is. Its uncontrolled use can lead to serious mental disorders, respiratory arrest, and even death,” he added.
According to the press service, in the Vladimir region the sale of nitrous oxide balls began this summer.
Laughing gas is widely used among young people and is most often sold in nightclubs. According to eyewitnesses, during the celebration of City Day in Vladimir, “laughing gas” was sold right on the streets to everyone.
Deputies of the Vladimir Legislative Assembly also adopted an appeal to Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev with a request to equate nitrous oxide with narcotic substances and to take its circulation under strict state control.
“It is quite obvious that this (the use of laughing gas) has an effect on the central nervous system and causes great harm to health, but today we cannot control it. This is not within our competence. If the government gives us this competence, the work will be more productive,” Viktor Ivanov, director of the Russian Federal Drug Control Service, recently told Interfax.
At the same time, he noted that, against the general background, on the “black market” of drugs, “laughing gas” takes up a fraction of a percent. “Afghan heroin and Afghan hashish make the main difference here,” said V. Ivanov.
Last week, the head of Rospotrebnadzor, the chief state sanitary doctor of the Russian Federation, Gennady Onishchenko, called for more stringent regulation of the sale of “laughing gas” by blocking sites with its advertising. “In Russia, thank God, there is no free sale of weapons and drugs. Why can’t we introduce restrictions in this area? We need to ban sites advertising this gas,” he said.