Woman whose 600 cannister-a-week laughing gas addiction left her needing a wheelchair claims law change wouldn’t have stopped her – as nitrous oxide is made illegal from TODAY

•  Nitrous oxide is now a Class C drug and its possession is a criminal offence

A woman whose laughing gas addiction left her needing a wheelchair claims the ban wouldn’t have stopped her from inhaling 600 cannisters a week.

Nitrous oxide, also known as NOS or hippy crack, is now a controlled Class C drug, meaning that dealers could face up to 14 years in jail.

Users face an unlimited fine, community service, a caution, or a possible two-year sentence for serious habitual users.

But Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, from Newham, east London, said she doesn’t think the new ban will work for young people determined to get high – and instead will make teenagers more ‘sneaky’

The former receptionist started doing laughing gas at parties when she was 18, but within three years she had lost feeling in her legs and feet, forcing her to use a wheelchair.

Kerry-Anne Donaldson, from Newham, said on Good Morning Britain that she doesn’t think the new ban will work for young people determined to get high

Kerry-Anne Donaldson, 26, from Newham started doing laughing gas at parties at 18

Speaking on Good Morning Britain, she said: ‘It would have just made me be more sneaky about it. I just wouldn’t use it on the street, I’d hide it.

‘People are going to be scared to go to the hospital and be honest with them because they’ll be scared to get in trouble.’ 

What are the risks of nitrous oxide?

Nitrous oxide, has been nicknamed ‘laughing gas’ due to the euphoric and relaxed feeling people who inhale it can sometimes feel.

The substance – also known as ‘hippy crack’ – is normally bought in pressured canisters, commonly transferred to a container, e.g. a balloon, from which the gas is inhaled.

Although possession of laughing gas is not currently illegal, English law prohibits its sale to under-18s if there is a chance they will inhale it. 

The effects of nitrous oxide:

• Feelings of euphoria, relaxation and calm.

• Dizziness, difficulty in thinking straight and fits of giggles/laughter.

• Sound distortions or even hallucinations.

• In some people, a headache can be an unwanted immediate effect.

Risks include:

• Unconsciousness or death from lack of oxygen. This occurs when the available oxygen for breathing is effectively pushed out by the nitrous oxide.

She added: ‘I don’t think the law will get it off the streets. If someone wants it, there will always be a way to buy it.

‘Kids have always found a way to get illegal drugs, so I’m not sure it will actually stop them, but it should at least push up the prices and prevent overuse.’

This summer it was reported that there were 13 tonnes of canisters of the drug collected after the Notting Hill carnival.

Nitrous oxide is the second most commonly used drug among 16 to 24-year-olds in England after cannabis, and has been blamed for fuelling littering and anti-social behaviour.

Inhaling the gas brings about short-term feelings of lightheadedness, fits of giggles and hallucinations but heavy, regular abuse risks significant health risks and in more severe cases, nerve damage or paralysis.

This summer it was reported that there were 13 tonnes of canisters of the drug collected after the Notting Hill carnival.

It has also been identified as having potentially fatal consequences on the UK’s roads from incidents of drug driving.

But Nitrous oxide has legitimate uses and it will remain lawful for catering purposes and in maternity wards when used as pain relief during labour. 

Meanwhile, a mother whose teenage son died after solvent abuse is over the moon that hippy crack is now illegal.

Emma Cain’s 17-year-old son, Jon, died in 2011 after inhaling butane with his friends.

Then when at a memorial on what would have been his 28th birthday, she was shocked to see young people inhaling laughing gas on the beach.

Although she knew it was a different gas, this spurred her to start campaigning against solvent abuse.  

The 46-year-old, from Southend, Essex, said she stops teenagers ‘on the streets’ to warn them of the danger because they think it’s ‘harmless’.

The former receptionist started doing laughing gas at parties when she was 18, but within three years she had lost feeling in her legs and feet, forcing her to use a wheelchair

The government announced on Wednesday that laughing gas will be made illegal 

Ms Cain, a mother-of-five, told GB News how she stops young people on the street who are inhaling laughing gas.

READ MORE  – Hippy crack becomes illegal from TODAY with repeat offenders facing up to two years in jail 

She said: ‘I have even got some of them to let go of their balloons. I tell them how dangerous it is. I tell them that my son died for inhaling gas and they are harming themselves. What would their parents do if they lost them?

‘They think it’s harmless. They don’t realise how dangerous it is. I am just doing what I can, I’ve started stopping them on the streets.

‘I did stop a couple of teenagers to get their point of view on things and why they think that kids of their age would be doing that.

‘You’ve got to know the root cause of why they are doing it, to help them. I don’t know why every teenager is doing it but there are lots of reasons. It’s mental health, it’s what they have been through in the past.

‘It could just be that they’re having fun and don’t realise the dangers. There’s a lot of parents out there who don’t realise the dangers so they can’t tell their kids.

‘Experts are saying the ban will just drive it underground. Of course it will. You can’t cure it. They are already selling it illegally.

‘I’m not out to criminalise anybody. I want to save our kids.’

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