Canisters of the substance, referred to as ‘laughing gas’ when used for recreational purposes, were found in the Boultham Park and Westwick Gardens areas of Lincoln.
While having many legitimate uses in the fields of medicine and catering, when used recreationally, nitrous oxide can have serious negative consequences for the user.
Police Community Support Officer Matt Flack said, “Users of laughing gas that we’ve seen in the past have often suffered things from loss of blood pressure, all the way to it causing heart attacks”. Poisoning of the central nervous system is another risk as well as suppression of bone marrow.
These negative effects are likely to be exacerbated should the user pair laughing gas with drugs or alcohol.
Officer Flack has stated that the local policing team along with the special constabulary will be increasing their patrols in the affected areas over the coming weeks to highlight the dangers of using the product.
