BOSTON (WHDH) - The addiction hooked Kevin Quigley fast.
“The things I would do to get just one more hit. This is a terribly addictive thing,” Quigley said.
Nitrous oxide, known as whippets or laughing gas, was supposed to calm and numb him.
Instead, the high took over his life.
“It really takes you away from reality,” he said. “Something just clicked for me like, ‘oh, this is the high I’ve been waiting for my whole life.’”
Quigley couldn’t get enough. Soon his car was filled with empty canisters. The habit cost him tens of thousands of dollars and left his body covered in scars.
“They actually become freezing cold. I was using in the car and not realizing that this freezing cold object was against my body,” he said explaining how the canister burned him.
“I definitely, in the peak of use, had a lot of sensations like itching and burning and even spasms to a certain degree,” Quigley remembered.
The danger wasn’t only physical.
“That relaxing effect quickly turns into paranoia and psychosis. I’ve definitely ruined so many relationships, lashing out on people,” he said.
There were many times Quigley thought his addiction would kill him.
“I sort of thought that I was going to die and because of the mental state that the drug put me in. I was okay with that, which is a very, very dark place that I would never want to go back to,” he said.
Quigley said escaping that darkness was difficult because buying nitrous oxide was so easy.
“More or less every town has a few of these shops where you can buy it,” he explained.
It is illegal in Massachusetts to inhale nitrous oxide. However, it is legal to buy and sell the gas because it has legitimate medical and culinary purposes.
However, the gas isn’t just sold at medical or culinary supply stores; it is also found at convenience stores and smoke shops.
“Every single thing in that shop is designed to be inhaled and then they think someone who makes whip cream is coming to the smoke and vape shop to buy this tank,” Quigley said.
7 Investigates found nitrous oxide was widely available at convenience and smoke shops across Boston. Some stores sold the gas right next to vape products. One clerk even handed us a mouthpiece with the purchase. Another clerk explained the tank, “gets you high.”
Purchasing nitrous oxide online is even easier. Many popular online retailers sell the gas. 7 Investigates was even able to use a food-delivery app to deliver whippets in less than an hour.
No ID was required at any of the places we purchased nitrous oxide from.
“Because it is so easy to buy, it hasn’t been highly regulated. It makes it so people have this false sense that it is safe and okay,” said Dr. Michelle DiBlasi, a psychiatrist at Tufts Medical Center.
She explained that inhaling nitrous oxide isn’t safe and can cause long-term impacts to a person’s brain and nervous system.
“These can be really devastating, causing people to have difficulty walking, causing them to have blood clots, causing them to have permanent tingling in their fingers and toes,” she said.
Fortunately, Quigley recognized the danger before it was too late.
“I realized I was kind of giving my life away,” he said.
Quigley has gone to rehab multiple times over the last few years. While he is sober now, he admits every day is a battle.
“I have thoughts of using again pretty often, sometimes daily,” he said. “I think I’ve just learned at this point and this is something I have to remind myself of every day that this is a disease.”
The FDA issued a warning this year against inhaling nitrous oxide, citing serious health risks.
Some states and towns have taken action to ban or regulate the sale of nitrous oxide, including Northampton, Massachusetts.
Boston city councilors raised the issue of the sale of nitrous oxide and its enforcement in August, but no action has been taken yet.
The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) told 7 Investigates it is gathering information on the topic to understand the availability of the gas in the city.
“Misuse of nitrous oxide has increased in recent years, and the Boston Public Health Commission strongly discourages inhaling nitrous oxide, particularly by our young people,” a BPHC spokesperson said in a statement.
While leaders and law enforcement determine how to limit access to the gas, Quigley hopes users recognize the danger associated with it.
“I think it is important that people know this is a real thing, it impacts real humans, there are a lot of us out there and help is possible,” Quigley said.
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