ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 What might seem like a harmless way to get a quick high can have devastating consequences.<\/p>\n
Misused nitrous oxide can cause severe neurological damage, paralysis, and even death. Now, Florida is cracking down on sales under Meg\u2019s Law, named after a Central Florida woman whose family says nitrous oxide addiction ultimately took her life.<\/p>\n
Nitrous oxide is known by several names, including laughing gas, whippets and Galaxy Gas.<\/p>\n
The gas is also used as a propellant in products such as whipped cream, but some people inhale it to get high. For years, teens and young adults have used it recreationally, prompting lawmakers to take action.<\/p>\n
\u201cI read her story, and I thought, how can such a beautiful young girl be taken by this drug, nitrous oxide, which ultimately took her life,\u201d said State Rep. Rachel Plakon, a Republican representing Florida\u2019s 36th District.<\/p>\n
Margaret Caldwell, known as Meg, was found behind an Orlando tobacco shop in November 2024 after purchasing oversized canisters of nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though we can\u2019t bring Meg back, we can help save other young people with this new law,\u201d Plakon said.<\/p>\n
Meg\u2019s Law took effect Oct. 1, restricting nitrous oxide sales at covered smoke shops and convenience stores.<\/p>\n
Violations can carry a third-degree felony charge.<\/p>\n
Meg\u2019s sister, Kathleen, who lives in Central Florida, said the law is intended to prevent other families from experiencing a similar loss.<\/p>\n
\u201cMeg\u2019s Law isn’t about taking something away from people,” she said. “It is about protecting lives, holding those who profit from dangerous practices accountable, and hopefully preventing another family from experiencing the kind of devastating loss that forever changed ours.”<\/p>\n
Dr. Kent Mathias, an assistant clinical professor of addiction medicine in the University of Florida\u2019s Department of Psychiatry, treats patients who misuse nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n
He said getting help early can make a significant difference.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you get treatment early on, when symptoms first arise \u2014 a lot of it\u2019s reversible. If you don\u2019t, then it can be permanent,\u201d Mathias said.<\/p>\n
Repeated nitrous oxide use can deprive the body of oxygen and damage the nervous system, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.<\/p>\n
It can also lead to dependence and potentially fatal consequences.<\/p>\n
Mathias described the scale of some patients\u2019 use, including cases involving college students.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have several cases where, you know, devastated parents would bring in photos of their child\u2019s dorm room, and it was filled with hundreds of thousands of these tanks because they could just keep buying them,” Mathias said.<\/p>\n
An independent analysis of CDC death-certificate data counted 186 U.S. deaths in 2024 in which toxic effects of nitrogen oxides were listed as a contributing cause. The figure does not establish that all those deaths involved recreational nitrous oxide use.<\/p>\n
Florida is among a growing number of states restricting retail sales of nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n
Meg\u2019s Law exempts licensed grocery stores and supermarkets, as well as finished food products such as whipped cream, when the gas is used solely as a propellant.<\/p>\n
Plakon said the legislation addresses a question Meg reportedly raised with her sister about how dangerous the gas could be if it was available for purchase at a smoke shop.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, this bill speaks directly to what Meg told her sister. She told her sister. ‘How can this be dangerous when I can just go to the smoke shop and buy it’?\u201d Plakon said.<\/p>\n
The law does not specifically prohibit every online or out-of-state purchase.<\/p>\n
However, other Florida laws may restrict buying or possessing nitrous oxide for recreational use. Enforcement remains a question, particularly when it comes to online sales.<\/p>\n
State regulators have not yet adopted rules aimed at preventing nitrous oxide from being sold for use as an intoxicant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ORLANDO, Fla. \u2014 What might seem like a harmless way to get a quick high can have devastating…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":426098,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[115,139,141,140,11881,835],"class_list":["post-426097","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-news","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news","tag-randy-rauch","tag-vod"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=426097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/426097\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/426098"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=426097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=426097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=426097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}