Another Orange County is looking to introduce restrictions on whippets, with Garden Grove officials eying a ban of the inhalant.
Recreational nitrous oxide, known as “whippets” or “galaxy gas,” can be inhaled to create a high and can lead to “neurological, hematologic [related to blood], and psychiatric complications, including nerve damage and psychosis” if abused, according to the Yale School of Medicine.
This week, city council members voted unanimously on the first reading of the ban, which would prevent nitrous oxide from being sold in the city for recreational purposes – the gas can still be purchased for culinary, medical and vehicular purposes.
At the meeting, Councilmember George Brietigam suggested that he would support expanding the ban to include vehicle use, though it wasn’t added to the final wording.
“When I look at nitrous oxide in the automotive industry, I would prefer to ban that too because it’s basically used to make cars go fast,” Brietigam said at the meeting. “I would even go beyond this (ordinance) if I could, but this is a good start.”
A major point behind the ban was its marketing toward children with its flavoring.
“We have attachments of photos of some of the nitrous oxide that we have found in smoke shops and other liquor stores in the city, you will notice, for whatever reason, they have different flavors like grape and strawberry,” said City Attorney Omar Sandoval at the meeting.
“It’s just an example of the type of products that we’re finding out there that appear to be geared towards children.”
The council also pushed back discussion on kratom again, putting the item back on the agenda in a few weeks.
At their Feb. 10 meeting, an ordinance was proposed which would ban both whippets and kratom, but its discussion was delayed and the ban was split in two, with separate wording to be developed for the drugs.
The city also paused discussion on banning smoking in public spaces, citing lack of clarity and concerns about enforcement.
[Read: Garden Grove Pauses Proposed Smoking Ban]
Whippet Crackdowns in OC
Orange County has seen a rise in regulations on recreational nitrous oxide, specifically targeting the inhalant being used to get high.
Regulations surrounding the product can also be challenging because of its wide use in various products, like culinary products, like whipped cream, as a medical and dental anesthetic, and for vehicle performance.
Fullerton banned the gas in November following a 328% increase in arrests associated with the gas, jumping from 32 in 2020 to 137 in November of 2025, then the ordinance was passed.
The city had also seen a 700% increase in traffic collisions involving nitrous oxide in the city, according to a city presentation.
Officials in Santa Ana and Costa Mesa have also brought in their own restrictions, while Irvine sidestepped a ban, citing state laws providing enough cover.
[Read: As More Orange County Cities Crack Down on Whippets, Irvine Sidesteps Ban]
Kratom Uses and Regulations
Restriction of kratom has been widely varied because of its multiple forms and their varying effects.
At the Feb. 10, Garden Grove meeting, most concerns circled around the restriction of kratom, since its two forms are varyingly dangerous to the public.
Dried leaf kratom taken in low doses is used similarly to caffeine for energy.
But when an alkaloid making up only 2% of the leaf’s natural alkaloid content – 7-hydroxymitragynine – is taken in concentrated doses, the plant has an opioid-like effect and is known as synthetic kratom.
Because there is no regulation surrounding kratom, both natural and synthetically created products are simply labeled as “kratom” making it hard for buyers to know what they’re getting.
“You’ve stripped everything about the kratom leaf from it, no fiber, none of the other 50 alkaloids, none of the antioxidants. You focus on the trace amounts of 7-OH, you amplified it by 200, 300 times,” said Matthew Lowe, executive director of the Global Kratom Coalition, in an interview.
“Then you put it into a pill, and you’ve put it onto the market, calling it natural, which it’s not, calling it a dietary supplement, which it’s not, and in many cases, calling it natural kratom, which it’s not.”
The Federal Drug Administration currently recommends scheduling action of the synthetic 7-OH products. The county has introduced bans of the synthetic version of the drug, following state officials recommendations – similar restrictions are what advocates support for the natural leaf.
[Read: Orange County Bans Whippets]
“One is naturals being consumed for centuries. One is a novel drug creation,” Lowe said. “The DEA is now working through that scheduling process, and we hope that there’s going to be emergency action taken soon. But really, our message is: the FDA have got this right.”
Dana Point, Tustin and Newport Beach have all joined the growing list of cities fully banning all kratom products, while cities like Huntington Beach, Laguna Niguel and Buena Park moved forward with bans on synthetic kratom, containing 2% of 7-OH.
