LA City Council votes 14-0 to make nitrous oxide sales at smoke shops and cannabis stores a misdemeanor

The Los Angeles City Council voted 14-0 on Wednesday, Oct. 7, to ban the sale and distribution of nitrous oxide by tobacco and cannabis retailers. Councilmember Katy Yaroslavsky was absent.

The ordinance exempts pre-packaged food that uses the gas as a propellant, so whipped cream stays on the shelf. It now goes to Mayor Karen Bass, who has said she intends to sign it. Once she does, it takes about a month to go into effect.

Criminal penalty, not just a fine

The penalty is the key difference from state law. California's new SB 758, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in September, bars retailers that sell tobacco or cigarette products from selling nitrous oxide. A violation is an infraction punishable by a fine.

The L.A. ordinance makes it a criminal misdemeanor. The maximum penalty is a $1,000 fine, six months in jail, or both.

The state also passed SB 936, which restricts flavored nitrous oxide and containers larger than 8 grams. Councilmember Imelda Padilla said those laws give cities and counties clear authority to adopt tougher local rules.

"For us, that means more tools to keep these products off store shelves," Padilla said.

Why it was hard to regulate

Nitrous oxide is not a controlled substance. It has legitimate uses: dentists and doctors use it for sedation, cooks use it in whipped cream dispensers, and it is used in auto performance applications. That is why local governments have struggled to restrict it.

It has long been a state misdemeanor to knowingly sell or possess nitrous oxide to get high. That is hard to enforce when the same canister is sold for cooking.

Rialto was the first California city to restrict certain sales, in 2017. Huntington Beach, Santa Ana and unincorporated Orange County have since followed.

The FDA warns that inhaling or misusing the gas can cause serious health problems or death. According to the LA Times, misuse can lead to blood clots, asphyxiation, impaired bowel and bladder function and paralysis. Authorities have also linked it to fatal car-related deaths, including the killing of an 11-year-old girl.

The push from Pacoima

Padilla and Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez introduced the motion on Oct. 8, 2024, with Councilmember Tim McOsker seconding. Wednesday's vote came one day short of two years later. On May 12, the council had voted 14-0 to direct the city attorney to draft the ordinance, with carve-outs for medical, automotive, industrial and food service uses.

Students from Bert Corona Charter High School in Pacoima spoke in favor of the ban at the meeting. They were backed by the San Fernando Valley Partnership, a nonprofit that runs a youth prevention program at the school.

"When products that can be misused are easy to find in our neighborhoods, a classroom lesson can only do so much," junior Santiago Cruz told the council. Another student, Mayra Rodriguez, said she wants to grow up in a community "where this isn't just accepted as a part of everyday life."

Albert Melena of the partnership told the council that discarded tanks on city streets "aren't litter. They're a warning sign of how available this product is." He also said 73% of L.A. schools are within 1,000 feet of a smoke shop. That figure is his claim; no source breaks down how it was calculated.

Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson told the students they can build a world where "the next generation of students won't have to show up to City Council to ask for poison to be taken away from in and around their schools."

Bass called it "a public health and public safety issue," saying nitrous oxide is "dangerous, especially in the hands of kids, and far too accessible."

What comes next

The council also asked the City Attorney's Office to draft a separate ordinance. It would extend criminal liability for selling nitrous oxide to all retailers offering it without a legitimate use, not just tobacco and cannabis shops. No date for that draft was given.

Padilla is asking residents to report tobacco or cannabis shops selling nitrous oxide to the City Attorney's office at TEP@lacity.org. The first enforcement test comes after Bass signs and the roughly one-month clock runs out.

The ordinance applies only inside L.A. city limits.