Balloons aren't just for decorations at Bass Coast.
Stacey Forrester brought 200 balloons to the electronic music festival in Merritt on July 11-14, all of which were taken by attendees to use with nitrous oxide, or laughing gas.
“It's relatively easy to get," said Forrester, the festival's harm-reduction manager. "It's very accessible compared to other drugs. You can order everything you need to do it on the internet, or pick it up in the grocery store. So I'm not surprised that we see a fair number of people doing it.”
Nitrous oxide has been used as a recreational drug for centuries. Invented in 1772, it was discovered by British aristocracy who held laughing gas parties before later being adopted for medical use. In recent decades, nitrous oxide usage has increased among festival attendees, who use it for a momentary burst of euphoria or to intensify other psychedelics.
But in June, Health Canada issued a public warning about using nitrous oxide. The federal agency said it had seized products meant for recreational use and was working with Canada Border Services Agency to stop shipments entering the country.
Recreational nitrous oxide use is illegal in some countries, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Australia. But despite Health Canada's warning, it remains legal in Canada. Canisters can be found to purchase online in various sizes, flavours and prices, and are advertised to be used for making whipped cream.
James Kaufman, ANKORS' drug checking program co-ordinator based in Cranbrook, says that marketing is misleading. "There's no real use for them in food, whether it's coffees or things like that. They're specifically for inhaling.”
Kaufman and Taylor Yonkman, who also works at ANKORS as a drug checking technician, are preparing to handle harm-reduction services at Shambhala Music Festival near Salmo on July 25-28.
Yonkman understands the appeal of using nitrous oxide. Users experience a quick high, usually within seconds, and it is typically over within a minute.
“It's a very short acting, quick high. There's definitely after the initial high some lingering effects of euphoria, and you just feel a little energized.”
It also comes with its own dangers. Users can experience freezing injuries to the mouth and face if the gas is inhaled directly from canisters. Health Canada lists a number of side effects, including loss of consciousness, impaired bladder and bowel function, vitamin B12 deficiency, increased heart rate, blood clots, nerve damage, spinal cord degeneration "and in severe cases permanent paralysis."
At a festival, the greatest harm for a nitrous oxide user can actually be gravity. In addition to using a balloon and not being alone, Forrester recommends users sit down in a safe space before inhaling.
“Outdoor festival grounds are dark. They're full of rocks and roots and trees and so many tripping hazards. So the main thing that comes to mind there is just keeping people low to the ground and ideally sitting when they do these things, so they don't fall and roll their ankle or worse.”
The exact number of nitrous oxide users, however, is difficult to determine.
It doesn't require drug checking, which Interior Health and ANKORS use to record what substances are being consumed at Shambhala and Bass Coast. Depending on the size of a canister, it can provide multiple hits per user, or for just one person at a time. Kaufman said he's watched users huff whole balloons in one sitting, which he doesn't recommend as it can cause oxygen deprivation. He's also seen attendees use 20-30 canisters on their own in a single day.
But the only tangible evidence for how much nitrous oxide is being used at festivals might be what's in the trash when the event is over. Forrester said there were plenty of canisters left behind once Bass Coast ended.
"Anecdotally, I don't think it's on the rise, but it's also not on the decline. I think it's just always been there in this particular setting."
