No joke: Denmark to cut kids off from laughing gas

COPENHAGEN: Denmark plans to ban sales of laughing gas to minors to prevent them from using the substance — which is used for making whipped cream or filling balloons — to get high, officials said Tuesday. “We’re going to end too-easy access to laughing gas and prevent the abuse of gas cartridges by young people,” Industry Minister Simon Kollerup said in a statement. With nearly universal support among lawmakers, the parliament is expected to pass the legislation that would see sales restricted from May, with adults also to be limited to purchasing two cartridges at a time to discourage abuse. Nitrous oxide, or laughing gas, was once widely used as an anaesthetic to reduce pain, but its euphoric effects have also long made it popular as a recreational drug. Health officials worry that regular use of nitrous oxide can cause nervous system and heart rhythm problems and a loss of memory.