Nitrous Oxide

No laughing matter, the onset of nitrous oxide (laughing gas) being used as a recreational and illegal drug around Burghwallis is a growing concern. You may have seen the discarded gas cylinders spread along the verges of the parish. They may look innocuous but their presence hides a deeper concern.

One of the most frequent activities performed by the small army of Burghwallis volunteers is collecting litter. Avoiding the concerning dilemma as to why we have become a nation of ‘tossers’, the amount of discarded rubbish regularly collected from along the approximate 10 miles of verges that serve the village is staggering. Although this detritus has an air of predictability; cans, bottles, wrappers - and heavily influenced by project waste from the jobbing builder, there is an undercurrent that has a dangerous implication.

Over the past few years the appearance of used cylinders of Nitrous Oxide along our roadside has grown alarmingly. The primary use of the gas is as a sedative administered by professional medical personnel in a strictly controlled environment prior to a medical procedures. It is also used in catering to whip cream. But the frequent uncontrolled recreational use of the gas, now a class C drug has serious side effects; dizziness, disorientation, nausea etc. Although the small inhaled amount of gas can create a short lived high lasting just a few minutes the ongoing health risk to the user is massive. A doctor has warned of people who regularly use nitrous oxide as a drug risk becoming paraplegic, incontinent and psychotic. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-67834945

The number of discarded cylinders found along our lanes also implies the use of the gas by car drivers. The substance can cause euphoria and impair judgment, making driving extremely dangerous. A single 10kg bottle of the gas is sufficient to fill 100 small balloons used to inhale the gas. The Burghwallis volunteers have collected over 50 empty cylinders in a single collection.

The minimal paraphernalia used means many of the vehicles travelling along say The Abbés Walk could be driven by incapacitated drivers. A recent coroners review into a tragic accident in another location revealed the young driver of the car that ran onto a tree was inhaling the gas from a ballon whilst driving. He survived the accident, his three young passengers did not.

Finding this number of discarded cylinders whilst collecting litter is both a sad indictment of our society and a reminder of the danger that lurks from the user’s disorientation and long term impact to their health. Although these cylinders are generally empty and non hazardous there is always a risk that some may be still pressurised and therefore need to be collected by a specialist, certified to handle and recycle the spent gas bottles. None of this is cheap and requires yet more cash spent by the city council to clear the debris and the NHS to pick up the health pieces and of course the volunteers to collect and report the bottles in the first place.

A driver and passenger who filmed themselves at speeds of over 130mph (209kmh) in a 30mph zone have been jailed over the death of a man they crashed into.

Uways Hussain and Usmon Mahmood filmed themselves inhaling nitrous oxide from a balloon, running red lights and weaving through traffic before hitting 50-year-old Sylvester Abayomi, who was on his way to work.

Hussain was jailed for 11 years and eight months for causing death by dangerous driving, while Mahmood was jailed for 12 years and nine months for aiding and abetting causing death by dangerous driving.