- The documentary found addicts were able to buy NOS from corner shops
- Young men were seen brazenly huffing at balloons in their cars
- Nitrous oxide, a Class C substance, is one of Britain’s most widely used drugs
Drug addicts have been given impunity to buy mass quantities of nitrous oxide canisters and get high on public roads in their cars, a new documentary has revealed.
The BBC Three documentary, Drugs Map of Britain, revealed that failures in drug prevention have forced community activists to step in and rid Birmingham’s streets of canisters and bottles.
It comes as laughing gas was made a controlled Class C substance, meaning that dealers could face up to 14 years in prison, while users face an unlimited fine, community service or a caution, which would appear on their criminal record.
Serious users of the drug face a possible two year jail sentence.
Since 2016, it has been illegal to sell nitrous oxide, or NOS, for psychoactive purposes.
But the documentary found that many across Britain can easily get their hands on canisters at corner shops.
On top of this, catering products used to aerate creams and whips, such as Smartwhip, are readily available to legally buy.
The problem has become so bad in Birmingham that many young people openly huff balloons filled with NOS on the streets.
In one chilling scene, two youths that the BBC rode with can be seen driving around Birmingham while getting high on NOS as they are on the move.
One man, whose identity was withheld by the BBC, boasts: ‘I just met him because he was a bit sad.
‘And then I said, “you know what mate, I know what would cheer you up mate, a gold old Smartwhip mate”.
‘It’s a little buzz. I’ll be honest, yeah, it’s like any intoxicant.
‘You get a little adrenaline buzz out of it. It takes you out of your own little boring self. And brings you into a lively self. That’s why we do it in the car because it’s more low-key.’
Community activists told documentarians they’ve been forced to pick up the pieces where social services have failed to address the problem.
One activist, Naveed Sadiq, said that after a week-and-a-half of bottle picking, he alone was in possession of 450 discarded NOS bottles.
‘I could build an extension to the house with remaining space I’ve got here. I would say we’ve got a pandemic.’
One addict told the programme: ‘Maybe in a week I would do like 600 cannisters.’
She admitted her addiction was debilitating: ‘I couldn’t walk I couldn’t even use my hands.
‘I can’t do nothing for myself at the moment. It’s not like I can get up and walk out my house.’
Birmingham’s South Asian population has been hit hard by NOS abuse.
One addict said: ‘It’s become so prevalent in the Muslim communities because it’s not mentioned in the Koran.’
They said that the problem was so bad as it it incredible easy to pick up the necessary gear to get high.
‘I do buy it from the shops. I kind of just go in say hello, I get my Smartwhip and I leave.
‘It’s just like an every day kind of thing, like buying milk. It literally is just going to the corner shop to just get your grocery shop.
‘It would come to the point when we were getting a takeaway and I wouldn’t even stop doing a balloon when I was eating. I would eat then hop on the balloon.’
In 2021/21, nitrous oxide was the third-most used drug among 16 to 59-year-olds in England and Wales, according to NHS data.
On top of this, separate ONS data claimed that there were around 230,000 young people who had used nitrous oxide as a drug.
This summer, it was reported that there were 13 tonnes canisters of the drug collected after the Notting Hill carnival.
Repeated misuse of the drug can lead to nerve damage, loss of eyesight and other health issues.
