Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether she will consider reclassifying nitrous oxide as a controlled substance.

We have no plans to reclassify nitrous oxide as a controlled substance under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. Under the Psychoative Substances Act 2016, it is illegal to supply nitrous oxide if the drug is likely to be consumed for psychoactive effect.

In March 2015, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) reported that it did not consider that the harmfulness of nitrous oxide warranted control under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971. If there were increasing evidence about the harmfulness of nitrous oxide, we would approach the ACMD for an assessment of whether the substance should be included under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.