Editing Inhalant (section)

==Medical inhalants==
{{also|List of medical inhalants}}
[[File:N2O Medical Tanks.jpg|thumb|right |upright=.55|Tanks of medical-grade nitrous oxide]]

A small number of recreational inhalant drugs are pharmaceutical products that are used illicitly.

* Antidote to cyanide poisoning
** [[Alkyl nitrites]] ([[poppers]])
* [[Inhalational anesthetic]]s used as [[general anesthetics]]
** [[Nitrous oxide]]
** [[Xenon]]
* Historical general anesthetics
** [[Chloroethane]]
** [[Chloroform]]
** [[Diethyl ether|Ether]]

Several medical anesthetics are used as recreational drugs, including [[diethyl ether]] (a drug that is no longer used medically, due to its high flammability and the development of safer alternatives) and [[nitrous oxide]], which has been widely used since the late 20th century by dentists as an [[anxiolytic|anti-anxiety drug]] and mild anesthetic during dental procedures. Diethyl ether has a long history of use as a recreational drug. The effects of ether intoxication are similar to those of [[ethanol|alcohol]] intoxication, but more potent. Also, due to NMDA antagonism, the user may experience all the psychedelic effects present in classical dissociatives such as [[ketamine]] in the forms of thought loops and the feeling of the mind being disconnected from one's body. Nitrous oxide is a dental anesthetic that is used as a recreational drug, either by users who have access to [[medical-grade]] gas canisters (e.g., dental hygienists or dentists) or by using the gas contained in [[whipped cream]] aerosol containers. Nitrous oxide inhalation can cause [[Analgesic|pain relief]], [[depersonalization]], [[derealization]], [[dizziness]], [[Euphoria (emotion)|euphoria]], and some sound distortion.<ref>{{cite book |last=Giannini |first=A. J. |year=1991 |chapter=Volatiles |page=396 |editor-last=Miller |editor-first=N. S. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?doi=VgetLfJBQv0C&pg=PA396 |title=Comprehensive Handbook of Drug and Alcohol Addiction |place=New York |publisher=Marcel Dekker |isbn=0-8247-8474-X}}</ref>

===Recreational use===

====Liquids====

=====Alkyl nitrites=====
{{main|Poppers}}
[[File:HOpoppers.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|A selection of poppers]]
Ingestion of [[alkyl nitrite]]s can cause [[methemoglobinemia]], and by inhalation it has not been ruled out.<ref name="pmid3430141">{{cite journal |vauthors=O'Toole JB, Robbins GB, Dixon DS |title=Ingestion of isobutyl nitrite, a recreational chemical of abuse, causing fatal methemoglobinemia |journal=J. Forensic Sci. |volume=32 |issue=6 |pages=1811–2 |date=November 1987 |doi=10.1520/JFS11240J |pmid=3430141}}</ref>

The sale of [[alkyl nitrite]]-based poppers was banned in Canada in 2013. Although not considered a narcotic and not illegal to possess or use, they are considered a drug. Sales that are not authorized can now be punished with fines and prison.<ref>{{cite web

 |url = http://dailyxtra.com/canada/news/health-canada-cracks-poppers?market=209
 |title = Health Canada cracks down on poppers
 | publisher = Pink Triangle Press
 | date = 25 June 2013
 | first = Rob| last = Salerno
 | location = Canada}}</ref> Since 2007, reformulated poppers containing [[isopropyl nitrite]] are sold in Europe because only isobutyl nitrite is prohibited. In France, the sale of products containing butyl nitrite, pentyl nitrite, or isomers thereof, has been prohibited since 1990 on grounds of danger to consumers.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?dateTexte=20090901&cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000166136 |title=Decree 90–274 of 26 March 1990 |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |date=15 May 2009 |access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> In 2007, the government extended this prohibition to all alkyl nitrites that were not authorized for sale as drugs.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichTexte.do?dateTexte=20090901&cidTexte=JORFTEXT000000341445 |title=Decree 2007-1636 of 20 November 2007 |language=fr |publisher=Legifrance.gouv.fr |access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> After litigation by sex shop owners, this extension was quashed by the [[Council of State (France)|Council of State]] on the grounds that the government had failed to justify such a blanket prohibition: according to the court, the risks cited, concerning rare accidents often following abnormal usage, rather justified compulsory warnings on the packaging.<ref>[[Council of State (France)|Council of State]], [http://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/affichJuriAdmin.do?oldAction=rechJuriAdmin&idTexte=CETATEXT000020868995 Ruling 312449, 15 May 2009]</ref>

In the United Kingdom, poppers are widely available and frequently (legally) sold in [[Gay bar|gay clubs/bars]], [[sex shops]], drug paraphernalia [[head shops]], over the Internet and on markets.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/switch/surgery/advice/drink_drugs/poppers/ |title=Advice – Poppers |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=26 July 2012}}</ref> It is illegal under [[Medicines Act 1968]] to sell them advertised for human consumption, and to bypass this, they are usually sold as odorizers. In the U.S., originally marketed as a prescription drug in 1937, amyl nitrite remained so until 1960, when the [[Food and Drug Administration]] removed the prescription requirement due to its safety record. This requirement was reinstated in 1969, after observation of an increase in recreational use. Other alkyl nitrites were outlawed in the U.S. by Congress through the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988. The law includes an exception for commercial purposes. The term ''commercial purpose'' is defined to mean any use other than for the production of consumer products containing volatile alkyl nitrites meant for inhaling or otherwise introducing volatile alkyl nitrites into the human body for euphoric or physical effects.<ref>Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 (Public Law 1QO-690, section 2404) (15 U.S.C. 2d57a(e)(2)).</ref> The law came into effect in 1990. Visits to retail outlets selling these products reveal that some manufacturers have since reformulated their products to abide by the regulations, through the use of the legal [[cyclohexyl nitrite]] as the primary ingredient in their products, which are sold as video head cleaners, polish removers, or room odorants.

====Gases====

=====Nitrous oxide=====
{{main|Recreational use of nitrous oxide}}

{{Unsourced section|date=June 2024}}

[[File:Big-ox-oxygen-canisters.png|thumb|right|The canister on the left is whipped cream, a product which is pressurized with nitrous oxide. The two canisters on the right contain 'flavoured' oxygen.]]

[[Nitrous oxide]] can be categorized as a dissociative drug, as it can cause visual and auditory hallucinations. Anesthetic gases used for surgery, such as nitrous oxide or [[enflurane]], are believed to induce anesthesia primarily by acting as [[NMDA receptor antagonist]]s, open-channel blockers that bind to the inside of the calcium channels on the outer surface of the [[neuron]], and provide high levels of NMDA receptor blockade for a short period of time.

This makes inhaled anesthetic gases different from other NMDA antagonists, such as [[ketamine]], which bind to a [[regulatory site]] on the NMDA-sensitive calcium transporter complex and provide slightly lower levels of NMDA blockade, but for a longer and much more predictable duration. This makes a deeper level of anesthesia achievable more easily using anesthetic gases but can also make them more dangerous than other drugs used for this purpose.
Nitrous oxide is thought to be particularly non-toxic, though heavy long-term use can lead to a variety of serious health problems linked to the destruction of [[vitamin B12]] and [[folic acid]].<ref>{{cite journal |pmid=12751548 |year=2003 |last1=Weimann |first1=J |title=Toxicity of nitrous oxide |volume=17 |issue=1 |pages=47–61 |journal=Best Practice & Research. Clinical Anaesthesiology |doi=10.1053/bean.2002.0264}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |pmid=2240633 |year=1990 |last1=Koblin |first1=DD |last2=Tomerson |first2=BW |last3=Waldman |first3=FM |last4=Lampe |first4=GH |last5=Wauk |first5=LZ |last6=Eger |first6=EI II |title=Effect of nitrous oxide on folate and vitamin B12 metabolism in patients |volume=71 |issue=6 |pages=610–7 |journal=Anesthesia and Analgesia |doi=10.1213/00000539-199012000-00007|s2cid=13536219 }}</ref>

[[File:N2O whippets.jpg|thumb|right|Nitrous oxide "whippets" are small aerosol containers designed for charging whipped cream dispensers.]]

[[File:N2O cracker.jpg|thumb|right|A nitrous oxide "cracker" device, for releasing the gas from whipped cream aerosol chargers.]]

In the United States, possession of nitrous oxide is legal under federal law and is not subject to [[Drug Enforcement Administration|DEA]] purview.<ref name="ccle">{{cite web |url=http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |title=US Nitrous Oxide Laws (alphabetically) Based on a search of online free legal databases. Conducted May 2002 |publisher=Center for Cognitive Liberty and Ethics |access-date=30 July 2014 |archive-date=24 January 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080124114346/http://www.cognitiveliberty.org/dll/N20_state_laws.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> It is, however, regulated by the [[Food and Drug Administration]] under the Food Drug and Cosmetics Act; prosecution is possible under its "misbranding" clauses, prohibiting the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide for the purpose of [[recreational drug use|human consumption as a recreational drug]]. Many states have laws regulating the possession, sale, and distribution of nitrous oxide. Such laws usually ban distribution to minors or limit the amount of nitrous oxide that may be sold without a special license.{{Citation needed|date=July 2008}} For example, in the state of California, possession for recreational use is prohibited and qualifies as a misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://codes.lp.findlaw.com/cacode/PEN/3/1/10/s381b |title=CAL. PEN. CODE § 381b : California Code – Section 381b |publisher=Lp.findlaw.com}}</ref> In New Zealand, the [[New Zealand Ministry of Health|Ministry of Health]] has warned that nitrous oxide is a prescription medicine, and its sale or possession without a prescription is an offense under the Medicines Act.<ref>{{cite news |last=Anderton |first=Jim |date=26 June 2005 |url=http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |title=Time's up for sham sales of laughing gas |publisher=Beehive.govt.nz |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150108015457/http://www.beehive.govt.nz/release/time039s-sham-sales-laughing-gas |archive-date=8 January 2015  }}</ref> This statement would seemingly prohibit all non-medicinal uses of the chemical, though it is implied that only recreational use will be legally targeted. In [[India]], for general anesthesia purposes, nitrous oxide is available as Nitrous Oxide IP. India's gas cylinder rules (1985) prohibit the transfer of gas from one cylinder to another for breathing purposes. Because India's Food & Drug Authority (FDA-India) rules state that transferring a drug from one container to another (refilling) is equivalent to manufacturing, anyone found doing so must possess a drug manufacturing license.

====Safety====
In contrast, a few inhalants like [[amyl nitrite]] and [[diethyl ether]] have medical applications and are not toxic in the same sense as solvents, though they can still be dangerous when used recreationally.