A proposed ordinance for the Anchorage Assembly to consider during its April 8 meeting would make the recreational use of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) illegal in the municipality.
- Ordinance No. AO 2025-50 is being introduced by Assemblyman Randy Sulte. It would prohibit the recreational use, possession, sale, and offering to another of nitrous oxide (“laughing gas”), amyl or butyl nitrite (“poppers”), and Kratom, by amending Anchorage Municipal Code list the new offenses in the misdemeanor table.
Recreational use of nitrous oxide is not explicitly illegal under federal law in the United States, and is not classified as a controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. However, its sale or distribution for human consumption (i.e., recreational inhalation) is regulated by the FDA under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, and misuse can lead to federal penalties if prosecuted as “misbranding.”
At the state level, recreational use of laughing gas for the purpose of causing euphoria is illegal in California, New York, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Illinois. It is not illegal in Alaska.
Nitrous oxide itself has a functional use in canned whipping cream, where it is used as a propellant to dispense the cream from the canister and aerate the cream. But some people looking for a quick rush use the cans as “whippets,” where they release just enough gas from the canister (usually using a balloon to capture the gas) and inhale it for a buzz that will last up to a couple of minutes. Repeat use of whippets may have adverse health effects. People also sell and buy nitrous oxide canisters for recreational highs…