In the closing days of the 2026 legislative session, the Legislature advanced two measures to the Governor attempted to deal with the widespread illicit use of nitrous oxide as a recreational inhalant.
Senate Bill 936 (Blakespear) bans all sales of flavored NOX and the sale of non-flavored NOX in containers larger than 8 grams, which is the size typically used to charge whipped cream cylinders. Senate Bill 758 (Umberg) goes a step further by prohibiting tobacco retailers from selling NOX entirely; however, SB 758 continues to allow grocery stores and retailers with grocery departments to sell those products.
Taken together, the two bills will prohibit the sale of flavored NOX statewide and the sale of larger and frequently misused containers of NOX. The bills will prohibit smoke shops from selling NOX while preserving the ability for grocery stores to sell smaller whipped cream chargers that are 8 grams or smaller. The bills do not impact the sale of NOX for legitimate business purposes, including manufacturing, automotive, medicine, or dentistry.
When used as a recreational inhalant, nitrous oxide has been linked to serious health problems. According to the Network for Public Health Law, “the euphoria experienced by users of nitrous oxide is brief, but one-time, chronic, or excessive use contributes to negative health outcomes” like dizziness, vomiting, memory loss, low blood pressure, impaired functioning and judgement, irregular heartbeats, and neurological damage.
According to Orange County, there has been a “rise in illnesses associated with [nitrous oxide] misuse, particularly among adolescents and young adults…[which] has led to documented neurological harm, impaired judgement, and traffic accidents.” NOX misuse was responsible for a fatal collision in Orange County that killed three and seriously injured four children. A heart-rending article in the San Franscisco Chronicle detailed the deadly consequences of behind-the-wheel use of NOX in Northern California, which aside from killing the driver and two occupants of another vehicle, left a young mother who was a passenger in the car with a severe traumatic brain injury and unable to walk or talk.
SB 758 was sponsored by the League of California Cities, Narcotics Officers Association of California, Orange County, and RCRC while SB 936 was sponsored by RCRC, Orange County, the National Stewardship Action Council, and San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan.
For more information, contact RCRC Senior Policy Advocate, John Kennedy.