Take a stroll down the neon-lit street of Khao San Road, where for only 130 baht ($4) a pop you can purchase a balloon containing ‘funny air’ (nitrous oxide, or laughing gas). For no more than ten minutes after a full-lung inhaling, you can enjoy Thailand through the pie-eyed lenses of euphoria and fits of synthetic laughter.

Trends of the recreational drug started in the popular beaches of Pattaya and Koh Samui, as well as Koh Phagnan, an island notorious for it’s all-night drug-fueled parties. Due to the gas’ popular demand, Bangkok is next on the list, but authorities remain vigilant, ever present to squash the spread of sales in the capital city.

On August 21, two teenagers, aged 17 and 19, were arrested for selling the laughing gas to tourists. The pair was charged with trafficking in controlled substances, which carries a maximum jail sentence of five years and a minimum 9651 baht ($300) fine.

Also occurring on the same day, a 24-year old foreign man in Ayia Napa was arrested and found with 47 canisters and 17 balloons containing the gas – all of which, he claims, were supplied by another man. The man arrested is set to appear in court at a later date.

So far, 8 street vendors have been arrested for selling the laughing gas balloons, all of which were apprehended on Khao San Road – the popular tourist destination lined with bars, street vendors, hotels and restaurants.

The depressive recreational drug acts indirectly through a pain-inhibiting system in the spinal cord that releases a substance whose effect in turn inhibits a particular neurotransmitter required for pain-signal passage. Chronic usage distorts vitamin B12 in the body, as well as leading to an impaired DNA synthesis and poor cell growth.

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