Item 20 - First Reading of Ordinance Prohibiting the Sale or Distribution of Nitrous Oxide

Home Browse Search

Ordinance Adding Article XIV to Chapter 10 (Crimes and Miscellaneous Law Enforcement Provisions) of the Santa Ana Municipal Code Prohibiting the Sale or Distribution of Nitrous Oxide May 6, 2025 Page 2 recreational misuse of nitrous oxide. Within Santa Ana, nitrous oxide poses a growing threat to public safety. The possession and sale of nitrous oxide is currently regulated under the California Penal Code Section 381: It is illegal to possess nitrous oxide with the intent to breathe, inhale, or ingest the substance in order to get intoxicated under Penal Code section 381 b. It is illegal to sell, furnish, administer, distribute, or give away nitrous oxide, or offer to do so, to a person under 18 years of age under Penal Code section 381 c. Also, Penal Code section 381 e requires that a person dispensing or distributing nitrous oxide keep records of each transaction, available for inspection to law enforcement and employees of the California State Board of Pharmacy. Finally, under Penal Code section 381 d, a person who dispenses or distributes nitrous oxide to any person, and knows or should know that the person to whom they are dispensing or distributing nitrous oxide intends to breathe, inhale, or ingest the substance, is guilty of a misdemeanor if that person causes great bodily injury or death to themselves or another person. Despite existing state law, the recreational misuse and abuse of nitrous oxide continues. Currently, the City does not regulate the sale of nitrous oxide. In the absence of such regulation, nitrous oxide remains available for misuse through sales to individuals who intend to misuse the product. Local regulation of nitrous oxide will preserve and protect public health by dissuading sellers of nitrous oxide products from selling to individuals whom they know, or have reason to know, intend to use the product for illegal purposes. The proposed ordinance would prohibit any person to sell, attempt to sell, offer, distribute, or otherwise provide to any person nitrous oxide, a device to dispense or administer nitrous oxide, or any device that contains any quantity of nitrous oxide. The ordinance would not apply in the following exempt circumstances: If the nitrous oxide is contained in a food product for use as a propellant; If the nitrous oxide or device is being sold, attempted to be sold, offered, or distributed in a wholesale capacity, for uses similar to those described in subsection (d) of section 10-901. This exemption only applies if the wholesaler does not know or have reason to know that the recipient intends to use the nitrous oxide or device in violation of section 10-902; If the nitrous oxide or device being sold, attempted to be sold, offered, or distributed is specifically designed for the purpose of enhancing vehicle performance;