Legislative Analysis
Phone: (517) 373-8080
DEVICES FOR RECREATIONAL NITROUS OXIDE USE
http://www.house.mi.gov/hfa
Senate Bill 57 as enacted
Analysis available at
Public Act 18 of 2024 http://www.legislature.mi.gov
Sponsor: Sen. Stephanie Chang
Senate Bill 58 as enacted
Public Act 19 of 2024
Sponsor: Sen. Joseph N. Bellino, Jr.
House Committee: Health Policy
Senate Committee: Health Policy
Revised 3-13-24
SUMMARY:
Senate Bills 57 and 58 amend the Public Health Code to prohibit the sale of objects designed
for inhaling nitrous oxide recreationally if the seller knows that is how they will be used. A
violation is a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days or a fine of up to
$5,000, or both, with enhanced penalties for sales to a minor.
Senate Bill 57 amends section 7453 of the code, which pertains to drug paraphernalia, to
prohibit a person from selling or offering for sale an object specifically designed for inhaling
nitrous oxide for recreational purposes, knowing that the object will be used to do so.
No less than two business days before a person is to be arrested for a violation, the attorney
general or a prosecuting attorney must notify them in writing that they are in possession of
specific, defined material that the attorney general or prosecuting attorney has determined to
be an object specifically designed for inhaling nitrous oxide for recreational purposes. The
notice must request the person to refrain from selling the material or offering it for sale and
state that no arrest will be made if the person complies. Continued compliance with the notice
is a complete defense in a prosecution.
A person who has received such a notice may commence an action for a declaratory judgment
adjudicating the legality of the intended sale or offer to sell, with the attorney general or
prosecutor who sent the notice as the defendant to such an action. A declaratory judgment
stating that the sale or offer to sell specified material does not violate the above prohibition is
a complete defense against a prosecution for that person.
Under the code, among other exceptions, the above prohibition does not apply to an object sold
or offered for sale to any of the following:
• A person licensed under the Occupational Code or under Article 15 (Occupations) of
the Public Health Code, or an intern, trainee, apprentice, or assistant in a profession so
licensed, for use in that profession.
• A hospital, sanitarium, clinical laboratory, or other health care institution (including a
penal, correctional, or juvenile detention facility) for use in that institution.
• A dealer in medical, dental, surgical, or pharmaceutical supplies.
MCL 333.7453
House Fiscal Agency Page 1 of 4
 Senate Bill 58 amends section 7455 of the code, which provides that a person who violates
section 7453 is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by imprisonment for up to 90 days or a
fine of up to $5,000, or both. This penalty would generally apply to violations of SB 57.
The bill additionally provides that a person 18 years or older who violates section 7453 by
selling or offering to sell an object specifically designed for inhaling nitrous oxide for
recreational purposes to a person less than 18 years of age is guilty of a misdemeanor
punishable by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to $7,500, or both.
MCL 333.7455
The bills take effect June 10, 2024.
BACKGROUND:
Nitrous oxide (N2O), also called laughing gas, is commonly used as a fast-acting sedative,
anesthetic, and pain reliever in brief medical and dental procedures, where it is administered
by inhalation with oxygen. Nitrous oxide also has uses in manufacturing and auto racing, and
it is widely used in various ways related to food—notably as an aerosol or propellant for
vegetable oil sprays or for making foams or whipped cream.
Nitrous oxide becomes a liquid under relatively low pressure at room temperature and is
generally stored in liquid form in metal canisters. When released from pressure, it becomes a
low-temperature gas. Whipped cream dispensers use small (roughly three-inch) metal canisters
of the pressurized gas to aerate the cream and propel it through a nozzle. These replaceable
cartridges, or chargers, are punctured when screwed into a dispenser, with the gas released
through a lever action. The cartridges are commonly called whippets (spelled many ways).
Devices called crackers can be used to puncture whippet canisters to release the pressurized
gas, usually into a balloon, for inhalation for recreational use. The balloon helps manage the
dose as well as allowing the gas—cold enough to cause frostbite when it vaporizes—to warm
up. The high from inhaling nitrous oxide is rapid and short-lived (about a minute or two) and
is reported to involve feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and detachment, sometimes
accompanied by disorientation, dizziness, a ringing in the ears, or a general tingling sensation.
Some of these effects are likely due to the brain not getting oxygen, rather than the nitrous
oxide itself.
The abuse of nitrous oxide as a recreational drug is reportedly increasing in the United States
and Europe, with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns often cited as accelerating an
already present trend. As with many substances, the recreational use and abuse of nitrous oxide
has a long history, going back farther than the discovery of its medical benefits. For several
recent decades the drug has been popular on certain concert and party scenes. 1 Its expanding
popularity seems to be, at least in part, because it is readily available and relatively cheap and,
importantly for some, because it is hard for others to detect its use later on. In some areas of
Michigan, crackers and whippets are found in gas stations, party stores, convenience stores,
and smoke shops. They are also easily purchased online.
1
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/30/style/nitrous-oxide-whippets-tony-hsieh.html
House Fiscal Agency SBs 57 and 58 as enacted Page 2 of 4
 Recreational abusers of the gas often wrongly assume it to be safe simply because whippets
are cheap and easy to get. In the short term, the intoxication caused by the drug has caused
injuries and death from falls or from accidents while operating machinery (such as cars). For
individuals with underlying conditions or who are inhaling nitrous oxide in conjunction with
other drugs, the loss of oxygen during a session can cause seizures, arrythmias, or respiratory
or cardiac arrest. 2 In the long term, chronic or intensive use of nitrous oxide can interfere with
the body’s ability to process vitamin B-12, which among other things can impair the ability to
walk and cause permanent nerve damage. 3 Long-term abuse also can cause memory loss,
incontinence, sexual disfunction, depression, psychosis, brain atrophy, a weakened immune
system, numbness, tingling, spasms, and tinnitus (ringing in the ears)—some of which may be
symptoms of neurological damage caused by vitamin B-12 deficiency. 4
In addition to health hazards, some communities face a constant, and seemingly growing,
problem in the discarded metal canisters that litter their streets, parking lots, and sidewalks,
where they can present a hazard to cars, pedestrians, bicycles, lawnmowers, and the natural
environment. If not disposed of properly, the canisters also reportedly risk exploding during
waste processing. 5 Although a problem in many communities across the state, discarded
whippets are especially problematic in parts of Detroit. In one recent cleanup sponsored by the
Southwest Detroit Whippet WipeOut Campaign Coalition, nearly 8,000 discarded whippets
were collected in Mexicantown neighborhoods. 6 A few years ago, the campaign reported that
volunteers found close to 25,000 whippet canisters in less than a month.
Supporters of the bills argued that they will help to address sales of whippets and crackers for
the purpose of facilitating the recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide, while still allowing sales
of the nitrous oxide canisters for their legitimate purposes.
Other laws
In 2021, the state of New York made it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase
whippets, with violations a $250 or $500 fine, depending on prior offenses.
Taiwan has addressed the issue by defining nitrous oxide as a food additive rather than a food
product, thus requiring stricter licensure and other regulatory controls.
Other Michigan law
Public Act 119 of 1967 prohibits both of the following, with exceptions described below: 7
• Selling or distributing a device that contains any amount of nitrous oxide.
• Selling or distributing a device to dispense nitrous oxide for the purpose of causing a
condition of intoxication, euphoria, excitement, exhilaration, stupefaction, or dulling
of the senses or nervous system.
2
https://academic.oup.com/bja/article/116/3/321/2566058
3
See https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/12/magazine/nitrous-oxide-whippets-vitamin-b12.html
4
See https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/what-to-know-about-laughing-gas
5
https://www.emcdda.europa.eu/spotlights/spotlight-recreational-use-nitrous-oxide-laughing-gas_en
6
https://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/detroit/2022/03/27/detroit-whippet-drug-nitrous-oxide-
chargers/7160023001/
7
The act generally prohibits intentionally consuming or inhaling, to get high, the fumes of a substance containing a
chemical or solvent that releases toxic vapors (i.e., inhalants).
House Fiscal Agency SBs 57 and 58 as enacted Page 3 of 4
 A person who violates the above provisions is guilty of a crime as follows:
• Except as provided below, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment for up to 93 days or a fine of up to $100, or both.
• If the person has one prior conviction, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable
by imprisonment for up to one year or a fine of up to $500, or both.
• If the person has two or more prior convictions, the person is guilty of a felony
punishable for imprisonment for up to four years or a fine of up to $2,000, or both.
The above prohibitions of 1967 PA 119 do not apply to any of the following:
• A person licensed under the Food Law who sells or distributes the device as a grocery
product.
• A person engaged in the business of selling or distributing catering supplies only or
food processing equipment only who sells or distributes the device in the course of that
business.
• A person engaged in the business of selling compressed gases for industrial or medical
use who sells or otherwise distributes the device in the course of that business.
• A pharmacy, pharmacist, or pharmacist intern who dispenses the device in the course
of those duties.
• A health care professional.
The act also prohibits selling or distributing a device that solely contains nitrous oxide to a
person under the age of 18. This prohibition does not apply to pharmacies, pharmacists,
pharmacist interns, or health professionals acting in the course of their duties. It also does not
apply if the minor is accepting a delivery in the course of their employment. A person who
knowingly violates the prohibition or fails to make diligent inquiry as to whether the person is
a minor is responsible for a civil infraction and may be ordered by the court to pay a civil fine
of up to $500.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The bills would have an indeterminate fiscal impact on local units of government. A person
who violates provisions of the bills would be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by
imprisonment in jail, a fine, or both. The number of convictions that would result under
provisions of the bills is not known. New misdemeanor convictions would result in increased
costs related to county jails and/or local misdemeanor probation supervision. Costs of local
incarceration in county jails and local misdemeanor probation supervision, and how those costs
are financed, vary by jurisdiction. The fiscal impact on local court systems would depend on
how provisions of the bills affected court caseloads and related administrative costs. It is
difficult to project the actual fiscal impact to courts due to variables such as law enforcement
practices, prosecutorial practices, judicial discretion, case types, and complexity of cases. Any
increase in penal fine revenue would increase funding for public and county law libraries,
which are the constitutionally designated recipients of those revenues.
Legislative Analyst: Rick Yuille
Fiscal Analyst: Robin Risko
■ This analysis was prepared by nonpartisan House Fiscal Agency staff for use by House members in their
deliberations and does not constitute an official statement of legislative intent.
House Fiscal Agency SBs 57 and 58 as enacted Page 4 of 4


Statutes affected:
Senate Introduced Bill: 333.7453
As Passed by the Senate: 333.7453
As Passed by the House: 333.7453
Public Act: 333.7453
Senate Enrolled Bill: 333.7453