How Nitrous Oxide (Whippets) Became a Fixture at Music Festivals

Nitrous oxide (N₂O), commonly known as laughing gas, has a long history as both a medical anesthetic and a party drug. In 1799, English chemist Humphry Davy famously hosted “laughing gas” soirees, where aristocrats inhaled N₂O for its euphoric, giggly buzz. For more than 200 years, it’s been used in dentistry and medicine, often with oxygen, to safely relieve pain.

But today, nitrous oxide has taken on a new life at concerts and music festivals. Young people inhale it from whipped-cream canisters (“whippits”) or balloons for a brief high, and many assume it’s harmless. In reality, the party drug reputation hides its serious health risks.

By the latest estimates, nitrous oxide has become one of the most popular party drugs among teens and young adults. A Home Office survey in the UK found that 350,000 young people used “hippie crack,” aka: laughing gas, in one year. Annual figures on drug misuse show that 6% of all 16 to 24-year-olds had tried it. This makes it the most popular drug among teens and young adults, after cannabis.

The gas is cheap and legal to possess, and it produces uncontrollable laughter and light hallucinations. These facts have turned N₂O into a festival staple. Discarded nitrous balloons and empty canisters litter music festival fields – a scene all too common.

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A Quick High: Euphoria and Dissociation

When inhaled, nitrous oxide causes an immediate, short-lived high. Users report a head-rush of euphoria, tingling sensations, light-headedness, and a fit of giggles. (This is why it’s called laughing gas.) Like a mini-anesthetic, N₂O disrupts brain neurotransmitters for a few seconds to a minute, producing dizziness, auditory and visual distortions, and a feeling of floating outside one’s body.

The high is that brief, which explains why many festivalgoers cycle through one balloon after another. Users may inhale directly from a whipped cream canister or fill a balloon or mask. Many prefer balloons so they can continue breathing air between shots of gas.

Medical experts warn that while nitrous oxide feels easy and playful at first, it can quickly cause serious acute effects. Inhaling pure nitrous oxide displaces oxygen in the lungs, so a person can easily suffocate if they pass out. “If somebody straps on nitrous oxide with a mask and loses consciousness, their oxygen level isn’t being monitored,” explains an LA County health official, “and they’re breathing N₂O, and now they’re anesthetized. People can die from suffocation”.

Frequent Use and Cumulative Harms

Nitrous oxide may look like an easy addition to a live-music vibe, but its effects on the nervous system snowball quickly. Because the high is so short-lived, many young adults keep taking balloon after balloon, and that’s where the real damage starts.

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Vitamin B12 Crash → Nerve & Spinal Injury

Every inhale oxidizes vitamin B12, spikes methylmalonic acid, and starves nerves of a critical co-factor. Over weeks or months, users can slip into subacute combined degeneration: numb hands and feet, wobbly gait, brain fog, and, in severe cases, paralysis. Extra B12 won’t fix it while the gas keeps flowing; the only remedy is to stop using hippie crack altogether.

Hypoxia & Cardiovascular Stress

Pure N₂O pushes oxygen out of the lungs. Repeated hits can lead to hypoxia, seizures, irregular (tachycardic) heartbeat, and even deep-vein thrombosis. In other words, a few minutes of “laughing gas” can strain the heart and brain long after the music fades.

Freeze Burns, Aspiration & Sudden Death

Dragging gas straight from a whipped-cream charger can drop temperatures low enough to freeze airway tissue. Add alcohol or opioids, and the risk of vomiting (and then inhaling that vomit) rises sharply, a lethal combo that EMTs at Phish concerts know too well.

Mental-Health Fallout

Chronic use can amplify anxiety, depression, and dissociation, which are issues many festivalgoers already battle. When fun begins to start to feel like self-medication, that’s a red flag for escalating substance abuse.

Festivals, “Whipped-Cream” Canisters and the Nitrous Mafia

The music-festival setting uniquely encourages nitrous use and even overlooks it. Many concert organizers ban aerosol sprays and mask kits, but dealers still smuggle in bags of charged canisters. Journalists have dubbed the syndicates running festival nitrous supply “the Nitrous Mafia”. In one report, undercover buyers witnessed organized dealers selling dozens of balloons per minute outside concerts.

At multi-day campsites (like jam-band or EDM festivals), these crews might burn through hundreds of tanks, filling up to 350 balloons from each steel cylinder. For customers, it’s dirt cheap: one tank yields many 5 or 10-dollar balloons that go fast in a long set. But after a festival, security guards find balloons littered like spent bullet shells across campsites every dawn. The scene signals how deeply nitrous is woven into the current music festival culture.

Many fans have fond memories of the “old days” when someone would casually pass around a baloon as part of a communal vibe. But heavier commercialization means the drug is no longer a mellow pastime; it’s now pushed aggressively. Some musicians and crew openly complain that nitrous sales are out of control at shows.

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Festivals also provide peer pressure and cues that normalize nitrous use. Among young audiences, pulling out a whipped-cream canister or balloons is almost a rite of passage. Social media amplifies this: TikTok videos and influencers often show “galaxy gas” or colored whippets as fun tricks or life hacks. Some big-name artists even glamorize it.

Rapper Kanye West publicly joked about using nitrous oxide to relieve stress. Another rapper (Lil Uzi Vert) rapped about being on “that NOS” (a slang term) on stage. These public figures make it look common and low-risk, but health experts worry this glamorization conceals the hidden harm.

Warning Signs and What Parents Should Watch For

Here’s what parents and guardians should watch for:

What to Look ForWhy It Matters
Balloons & whipped-cream chargers tucked into backpacks, glove boxes, or bedroom drawersA clear sign of nitrous access—dealers known as the nitrous mafia sell these for quick, short-lived highs
Dizzy or giggly spells after parties or live music eventsSudden euphoria followed by confusion is classic nitrous exposure
Sweet or metallic breath odorInhaling N₂O leaves a telltale scent on clothes and skin
Dilated pupils, wobbling gait, numb or tingling hands/feetEarly nerve stress from rising methylmalonic acid and looming vitamin B12 deficiency
Headaches, chest tightness, mood swings, or new anxiety/depressionOxygen depletion + B12 loss can damage the nervous system and overall mental health

From Party Drug to Public-Health Alarm

What started as a quirky balloon hit at music festivals is now a fast-moving public health issue across the United States. As alcohol and pills lose their shine for some young adults, “legal highs” like nitrous oxide, ketamine, and psychedelics are filling the gap, reinforced by nitrous mafia on every concert's shakedown street. Because N₂O is still legal for culinary “whipped-cream” use, smoke shops and online stores make it look safe, yet poison-control data show nitrous-related ER visits are on the rise.

No matter how harmless “hippie crack” seems in the glow of live-music lights, every refill edges closer to real substance abuse. If you, or someone you love, has crossed that line, More Than Rehab (MTR) is here to help with evidence-based inhalant and polysubstance abuse treatment. Reach out today, before a few balloons become a lifelong battle.

888-249-2191

Hallucinogens & Addiction: Understanding the Complex Relationship

Hallucinogens are a class of drugs that can change the way you perceive the world around you. These substances might make you see, hear, or even feel things that aren't there, altering your sense of reality. Common hallucinogens include:

These can be consumed:

Hallucinogens can come from naturally occurring sources and synthetic lab drugs. Naturally occurring hallucinogens include psilocybin mushrooms, which have been used in spiritual practices for centuries. Other plant-based hallucinogens like peyote (which contains mescaline) and ayahuasca are also used in traditional rituals.

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Synthetic hallucinogens like LSD and MDMA are made in labs and are often more potent. These synthetic drugs are widely available and have gained popularity for their intense, mind-altering effects. However, synthetic hallucinogens tend to have more unpredictable side effects and can pose a greater risk to your mental and physical health.

Hallucinogen Use

When you use hallucinogens, you’ll feel detached from your body and surroundings. You may also hallucinate or experience alterations in your perception of the world. This experience often ranges from mild to intense and may vary from one person to the other and drug to drug. For example, you may feel subtle changes in your surroundings or extreme terror with a belief that the perceptions or visions are real.

When you take a large dose of a hallucinogen, it is referred to as “tripping.” Tripping can either be a good trip with great experiences and feelings or you could experience a bad trip that is unpleasant or frightening.

A small dose of a hallucinogen is called microdosing, which means using 5 to 10% of a usual psychoactive dose. People micro dose to:

How Do Hallucinogens Work?

Hallucinogens primarily affect your brain by interacting with serotonin receptors responsible for regulating mood, perception, and emotions. When you use a hallucinogen like LSD or psilocybin, these drugs overstimulate the serotonin system, leading to altered sensory experiences, changes in thinking, and even shifts in your sense of self.

Some hallucinogens, like MDMA, also release large amounts of serotonin and other neurotransmitters, creating feelings of emotional connection and empathy. However, this disruption of normal brain function can also lead to adverse effects, such as bad trips, paranoia, and confusion.

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Can You Get Addicted to Hallucinogens?

While hallucinogens are not considered as physically addictive as other controlled substances like opioids or alcohol, they can still lead to psychological dependency. Many dissociative drugs and MDMA have an increased risk of physiological addiction. You may experience withdrawal symptoms when you stop MDMA, ketamine, or PCP after a long period.

Hallucinogens reinforce continued use. So, you might find yourself craving the experiences these drugs create, mainly if you use them to escape from reality or cope with emotional pain or past trauma. Over time, this can lead to a pattern of abuse, where the drug becomes a regular part of your life despite its negative effects on your mental health.

NIDA points out that repeated LSD use may cause tolerance. Tolerance happens when your body adjusts to a certain amount of a drug. When you have tolerance, you may need to use larger doses to get the desired effect. And this can be very dangerous. As we mentioned earlier, hallucinogens can cause bad trips. Bad trips have been linked to emotional and psychological trauma.

Effects of Hallucinogens

While some people use hallucinogens recreationally, they can have severe long-term impacts on your brain. Prolonged use can cause persistent changes in mood, memory, and mental clarity. One of the significant risks is developing hallucinogen persisting perception disorder (HPPD), where hallucinations and visual disturbances continue long after the drug has worn off.

Hallucinogens can also trigger or worsen mental health conditions, particularly depression and anxiety. Repeated use may increase your vulnerability to mood disorders, and in some cases, the psychological damage can be life-threatening. There’s also a possibility of overdose. While overdose on classic hallucinogens like psilocybin, mescaline, or LSD is rare, dissociative drugs like ketamine and PCP carry an increased risk of overdoes.

Other common effects include hyperthermia, dehydration, increased heart rate, nausea, and elevated blood pressure that can leave you feeling disoriented, dizzy, and physically uncomfortable. Dissociative hallucinogens can also affect motor coordination and cause numbness, leading to an increased risk of accidents or injuries. Long-term use may damage your organs, including your liver and kidneys, as your body struggles to process and eliminate the drugs.

Signs of Addiction

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Some signs of addiction to hallucinogens can be subtle at first but become more noticeable over time. Here are a few key indicators:

  1. Cravings
  2. Increased use
  3. Neglecting responsibilities
  4. Withdrawal from social life
  5. Physical and mental health changes
  6. Failed attempts to stop

Seeking Treatment for Hallucinogen Abuse

If you or someone you know is struggling with hallucinogen abuse, it’s essential to know that help is available. Over time, hallucinogen use can lead to serious physical, mental, and emotional harm, and breaking free from this cycle may feel overwhelming. However, mental health services and specialized addiction treatment programs can offer the support you need.

One of the first steps in getting help is recognizing the issue and reaching out to professionals who understand the complexity of psychedelic drug use. Currently, there’s no FDA-approved treatments specifically for hallucinogen addiction, but a comprehensive treatment plan can make a big difference in recovery. Your doctor will likely recommend cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), individual counseling, and group support. These interventions help address both the physical effects of hallucinogen use and the underlying emotional or psychological issues that may be driving the addiction.

Facilities like More Than Rehab provide comprehensive care, offering detox programs, behavioral therapies, and support for both the short- and long-term effects of hallucinogens. Whether you're experiencing adverse effects from a single bad trip or you're dealing with prolonged use, professional help can make a big difference.

888-249-2191