Narcotics Control Bureau to keep tabs on all chemicals, intermediaries

Hyderabad: After busting a ring that was planning to smuggle amphetamines worth Rs 45 crore in the city recently, the Narcotics Control Bureau has decided to keep a tab on the sales of all chemicals, including laughing gas, and intermediaries like ephedrine and amphetamine used in hospitals as well as in the pharma industry.

The NCB has listed laughing gas as one of the commonly abused drugs. Laughing gas or nitrous oxide, which is also used in surgeries, is sold on a large scale in Hyderabad. Prolonged inhalation of laughing gas could cause death.

An NCB source said, “So far we haven’t found laughing gas during raids. It is misused abroad and we suspect that it is misused here too. It is on the list of most commonly abused drugs.”

“Stimulants speed up the body’s nervous system. They are also called ‘uppers’ and make people more awake. Laughing gas is an inhalant; when sniffed it gives immediate results but damages organs as the body is deprived of oxygen. It is known as laughing gas as it creates an euphoric feeling,” said the source.

It was widely reported in 2012 that Hollywood actor Demi Moore was addicted on nitrous oxide after splitting up with her husband. A wholesale dealer of nitrous oxide cylinders at Begum Bazaar said, “We sell the cylinders to hospitals and dental clinics. Usually vigilance is less during sales. We do not check its ultimate use or misuse.”