Users of laughing gas in London could be fined £1,000

The fight against laughing gas has stepped up a notch as Lambeth Council in south London has announced penalties of up to £1,000 for anyone inhaling or selling it.

The Public Spaces Protection Order is set to come into action on August 17 and will target legal highs after the Home Office revealed in May that selling NOS would be illegal under the planned Psychoactive Substances Bill.

A Lambeth councillor, Jane Edbrooke, has said that a recent death reported to be caused by laughing gas - although the 18-year-old's family deny this - backs up the decision.

"Legal highs are simply not safe – we saw that just days ago with the death of a teenager who had inhaled laughing gas. It is our duty to keep our residents safe and this new order should deter people from supplying and using legal highs in the borough.

"The litter and antisocial behaviour associated with certain legal highs has also blighted areas like Vauxhall and Clapham and now we have the power to do something about it."

Put into place after numerous complaints from locals over the last year, it's the first law of its kind in the capital and, if caught, users could be fined £100 on the spot, increasing to £1,000 if the case ends up in magistrates' court.

Not everyone's been too happy with the fight against it, with the Psychedelic Society even going as far as organising a "mass inhalation" in Parliament Square in London.

Head to Lambeth Council's website for more information.

[Via: ITV]
[Photo: Richard Marsham]