The humble nang, ahh. “What are nangs?” is a question that many people will ask, even if they are familiar with them under another name. Nangs, an Australian term for little canisters of nitrous oxide intended to make cream fluffy and long-lasting, are also known as “Whippets” and “Hippy Crack,” and anyone unfamiliar with their recreational version will know their contents as N2O, or simply laughing gas.
Nitrous oxide, the same gas utilised in the (too many) Fast and Furious movies to make fast automobiles even faster (and potentially even furious-er), is a very adaptable gas that has been used in dentistry and medicine as an anaesthetic since 1844.
Nitrous oxide, which is mixed with oxygen and inhaled through a face mask, is appropriate for treatments or settings when a general anaesthetic is not required, such as minor dental surgery and childbirth.
When inhaled alone, however, it can provide a very brief yet strong high to the recreational user.
The word “nang” is said to come from the sound distortion that a user hears in rapid repetition while high.
The history of nangs is fascinating, and they are far more widely used as a recreational drug than you might assume. Nangs are frequently mentioned as the drug of choice for Schoolies Week, alongside MDMA.
because they are not only inexpensive, but also readily available at every corner store
There are also late-night nang delivery firms that deliver 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in big cities, with one famously stating: “For all your baking needs.”
Because every now and again, you just need to frost a massive cake at 3 a.m. It was a Tuesday.
What exactly are Nangs?
Nangs are little metal cylindrical bulbs that are sealed with a metal lid and loaded with eight grammes of nitrous oxide. They’re designed to work with a cream syphon, which looks like a huge water bottle with a spout and trigger, and are used in kitchens to “charge” creams and gels.
But, as with other medications, need is the mother of invention, and there are a variety of ways to get to the end outcome. While well-heeled teenagers can buy a commercial cream syphon (dubbed a “Nanginator” in Australia) to get at the contents, many others utilise “crackers” and balloons to achieve the same effect.
The lid of the cracker has multiple holes and a screw top with a sharp pin within. A user seals the holes in the cap with a balloon, then places the nang in the chamber and screws the lid on. The seal of the nang is ruptured, or “cracked,” as it tightens, instantly filling the balloon with nitrous oxide.
The user can then inhale the nitrous to get a high that lasts anywhere from 30 seconds to one minute.
Some users have been known to favour huge balloons that can hold two to three nangs and then breathe in and out numerous times, saying that the hyperventilation enhances the experience, despite the fact that medical specialists believe this is potentially dangerous.
For many Australians, nangs are a part of growing up. Many a student sharehouse floor can be seen scattered with empty whippets at any one time, and their widespread use among university students, while still frowned upon, is widely known to certain generations, especially given its ubiquity and ease of usage.
Is it Illegal to Have Nangs?
In a nutshell, no, nangs are not prohibited. Not really, in a nutshell.
The use of nitrous oxide as a narcotic is extremely difficult to police due to its origin as a food-grade substance. They cannot be labelled as anything other than a food product in the United Kingdom, as they can in the United States. Certain sections of the United States also limit its sale to adults and set limitations on how many a buyer can buy in a single transaction, albeit this is the extent of the regulation.
In Australia, the sale of nangs is allowed, and a pack of ten costs around AUD$10. As nangs’ popularity grows, more and more stores are stocking them, with nangs currently being sold in almost every corner store and late-night 7-Eleven.
In previously indicated, there are a slew of delivery businesses accessible online that sell the canisters and needed “nanginators” as bundles that can be delivered to your home in a matter of minutes, no matter what time of day or week it is. Though many of them jokingly refer to their “baked products,” some of them aren’t kidding about their intentions, and it’s perfectly legal.
What are the effects of Nangs (Nitrous Oxide)?
When breathed, a nang causes tremendous exhilaration and lightheadedness in the user for a brief length of time. A nang user will feel giddy, dizzy, relaxed, and giggly for at least 20 seconds, and will frequently burst out laughing.
The high is about the same for each individual use and does not grow with each nang, therefore most people will use numerous nangs in one sitting.
There is no “comedown” period, as there is with most party drugs, and a user will be back to normal in a matter of minutes. They’re generally the drug of choice for a group of friends due to their low cost and popularity, while serious users have been known to use them alone.
Two deaths in Australia have been linked to the use of nangs, though not as a result of overdose, but rather the actions of the user while high, with one case in particular at the end of last year, when a young man fell from a balcony on the Gold Coast, tragically to his death, while allegedly under the influence of nangs.
Are Nangs a Threat?
While nitrous gas is commonly used safely in dental procedures and other settings, it does have drawbacks, and incorrect use can have harmful consequences.
Nangs are dangerous to inhale when standing up because of the dizziness, dissociation, and momentary loss of motor control that make them enticing to recreational users in the first place.
Because of its short-term effects, nitrous oxide can be addicting. Many users describe the illusive nang as “moreish,” and predict that they will use it more frequently as time goes on.
If nitrous oxide is inhaled in such a way that not enough oxygen is breathed in, death can occur; however, a huge amount of nitrous oxide would have to be inhaled: far more than comes in a single bulb. However, nitrous oxide was classified as a contributing factor in 28 deaths in the United Kingdom over the last 20 years. Click here for nangs delivery near me
While the pure gas is not hazardous in and of itself, long-term consumption has been linked to vitamin B12 deficiency. B12 is required by the human body to maintain healthy red blood cells, and a deficiency can cause anaemia, neuropathy, tinnitus, and numbness in the fingers and toes. Pregnant women should avoid nitrous oxide since it is both teratogenic (meaning it might disrupt the development of an embryo or foetus) and foetotoxic (meaning it can harm the developing embryo or foetus) (meaning they can be directly toxic to a developing foetus).
Nangs in History
While some may scoff at today’s youth utilising cream chargers to get cheap kicks, nitrous oxide has been used recreationally since 1799, when British nobles hosted “Laughing Gas Parties.”
William James, a 19th-century American philosopher and psychologist, and his contemporaries were also known to dabble in N2O. When he was high on the gas, he claimed to “experience the melting of dichotomies into a unity and a revelation of ultimate truth.”
While he claimed to have seen a guy under the effect of nitrous oxide “understand the meaning of the cosmos,” he also stated that once the mask was removed, the person was incoherent and memory loss was impending.
In a 1972 study conducted in the United States, over 100 people who routinely used nitrous oxide as a party drug were surveyed, and no detrimental effects were found.
Nowadays, not only is their use ordinary within many younger circles, but their ubiquity implies that they may, and probably will, rise in popularity at a rapid rate, until governments start outlawing whipped cream, which, at least in the Western world, would almost certainly be election suicide.
According to reports from the 2014 Glastonbury Green Fields festival organisers, two metric tonnes of used nang canisters were collected from the “King’s Meadow,” prompting coordinators to ban the substance from the world-famous festival in subsequent years, claiming it “darkened the field’s atmosphere.”
Finally, though nangs are unlikely to make you more “enlightened” (just ask the average festival goer), they are a cheap and (relatively) safe form of entertainment. If you don’t do them, you’ll at least understand why your friends keep organising late-night baking sessions.
