RCRC, along with the National Stewardship Action Council and Orange County, is co-sponsoring Senate Bill 936, authored by Senators Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) and Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana). This measure bans the sale of nitrous oxide as commonly used for illicit purposes.
SB 936 prohibits the sale of all flavored nitrous oxide and unflavored nitrous oxide in containers larger than 8 grams. The bill also bans the sale of devices used to allow an individual to inhale nitrous oxide from the container. In addition to graduated fines, violators could have their tobacco or cannabis license suspended. The bill is modeled after local ordinances adopted by Orange and Humboldt Counties and similar laws already in place in Nebraska and Louisiana.
When used as a recreational inhalant, nitrous oxide has been linked to serious health problems, including dizziness, nausea and vomiting, memory loss, low blood pressure, impaired functioning and judgement, irregular heartbeats, severe asphyxia, and neurological damage. California has long prohibited the use or sale of nitrous oxide for recreational purposes, but existing law doesn’t provide the tools to adequately address the problem.
Discarded nitrous oxide cylinders must be managed by local governments as household hazardous waste (HHW), where the cost for disposal (roughly $70-$120/container) far exceeds the initial consumer purchase price ($40-$70/container). Local governments have no control over what products are introduced into the marketplace and for which we will ultimately be responsible for management and disposal. By banning the sale of large nitrous oxide containers, SB 936 will significantly reduce cost pressures and management challenges for local solid waste programs and their operators.
RCRC supports SB 936 because it will protect children and young adults from the dangers of illicit nitrous oxide use while reducing local government solid waste management costs and challenges.
SB 936 is pending committee referral in the Senate. RCRC’s letter can be found HERE.
For additional information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate John Kennedy.