MPs want to go ahead with national laughing gas ban

The majority of parliamentarians have expressed their support for a ban on the recreational use of laughing gas. The caretaker Cabinet postponed banning the substance this spring due to insufficient resources to enforce it, and opted for the next Cabinet to handle the issue, RTL Nieuws reported.

"Parents, doctors and mayors are all calling for a ban to prevent even more health damage and even more nuisance. The fact that this is a 'caretaker' Cabinet should not be a reason to stop pursuing it now," said ChristienUnie MP Mirjam Bikker. 

“If you knew that every weekend children walk into the doctor’s office after they have used nitrous oxide, you would really realize what harmful junk that is,” she stated.

ChristienUnie has initiated the ban together with conservative Christian party CDA. At the beginning of April, Justice Minister Ferd Grapperhaus and State Secretary Paul Blokhuis of Public Health stated that enforcement would put additional pressure on the police. They argued the directive is not feasible and pushed for more money to be allocated.

Nitrous oxide and other designer drugs that could be banned would first need to be brought under the Opium Act, which would subsequently prohibit the substances. Initially, that was not expected to happen until at least spring 2022.

Once funds are allocated, the motion can immediately be submitted to the Council of State for legal advice. As far as the Tweede Kamer is concerned, this can already be done prior to September 1. Parliament would then vote on the proposal.

In the absence of a national ban, the city of Rotterdam has already banned laughing gas for private use due to the nuisance its users frequently caused.