Conference rdvax::grateful

    well, i myself have NEVER fallen down......i always find a van to lean
    up against....%^)  the worst thing about nitrious is the damage it does
    to the ozone,,,just say no to hippie crack! (and pull yer pants up a
    little so the crack don't show!)
    
    rfb

Some might call it Hippy Crack, but I've also heard it called the One 
Minute Acid Trip.

Either way, its best taken sitting down, or in the dentist's chair, whatever.

ODC: A certain member of The Grateful Dead is famous for extolling the 
virtues of this stuff at a particularly highly-energized concert...

>I witnessed people take hits
>    of that s##t, fall on their faces and get up and buy another balloon. 

there's nothing wrong with or dangerous about nitrous oxide; what's dangerous
about doing N2O the way it's typically done recreationally is that you're
doing straight nitrous; the result is that you're temporarily cutting off the
oxygen supply to your brain, and that's what's real bad; nitrous mixed with
oxygen is not harmful; why do you think dentists use it?

- rich

    
        i remember hearing or reading somewhere that some of these nitrous
     tanks contain dangerously high amounts of lead. there was something
     about the tanks being classified by color coded tags, one color 
     indicating good gas, and the other color indicating tanks with 
     high lead content. too risky for me. and then there's the ozone
     issue which should be reason enough to shun it.
    
                                                             ^dave

At the NC shows, JC and I (DC) were amazed to see a guy suck down about ...
what, $40 worth? ... of the gaseous stuff in something like half an hour.
He just kept forking over the $5 bills, and when one was gone he'd 
immediately get another; when he ran out of money he'd borrow it from his
friends or beg for a free balloon.  Eventually he could barely stand, and
was taaaaaaaaaaalking reeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeally slooooooooooooooowly ... quite
an amazing sight.  

- DC

From:	IMPULS::STARR "Alan Starr MLO5-3/T89 dtn 223-1429  30-Mar-1993 1020" 
30-MAR-1993 10:20:07.76
To:	@DB
CC:	STARR
Subj:	today's Dave Barry


March 30th
----------
You know how, during the Preflight Safety Demonstration, flight attendants
tell you that in the event of an emergency, oxygen masks will pop out of
the ceiling? My question is: *Who wants oxygen?* If I'm going to be in an
emergency seven miles up, I want *nitrous oxide*, followed immediately by
Emergency Intravenous Beverage Cart Service, so that I and my fellow 
passengers can be as relaxed as possible. ("Wow! Those are some beautiful
engine flames!")

    Does anybody know what the charge is if you get pinched selling
    balloons?  I've seen people get busted at a Jerry show at Greatwoods in
    in MA and also at a Dead Show in New Jersey.  Not that I have a guilty
    conscious or anything, just curious.   
    					Later, 
    				 	Rick

    in Vegas the first year they just confiscated the tanks, 
    and as you walked in to the venue they had 'em all lined up, valves
    opened..."breath deep" was the saying as you passed...
    
    rfb

>    Does anybody know what the charge is if you get pinched selling
>    balloons?

i think (but don't know for sure) that consuming it yourself is legal; if
you're just doing it for yourself, they might try to confiscate it anyway
on the justification that you're on their private property and they can
set whatever damn rules they please; however, if i was in such a situation
i might put up a bit of resistance

as for the illegality of supplying it to others, i've heard two differring
opinions (neither of these is based on much more than hearsay); one person
said that it's illegal if you're selling it to others, and that if you were
just giving it away, than it wouldn't be illegal; while this may be true
simply in light of the fact that you're vending without a license, not paying
taxes on income, etc., i'm not sure if this is the only problem; someone else
told me that the illegality of selling to others is because you're dispensing
it for human consumption without a prescription; to me this sounds more
plausible

as for the penalties, i have no clue; i've never seen anyone actually get
busted for it, just people having their nitrous confiscated

personally, i think it's an ok thing in moderation (doing it, that is, not
having it confiscated); but i also think that it's an individual choice, just
like any other personal liberty

- rich

    
    In some states like NY even possession is illegal unless you have a
    lisence or permit or whatevah. In NY its classified as an
    hallucinogenic and punishable by fines and/or imprisonment. I'd imagine
    that sales would bring even stiffer penalties.
    
    								-jeff
    

>    In some states like NY even possession is illegal unless you have a
>    lisence or permit or whatevah. In NY its classified as an
>    hallucinogenic and punishable by fines and/or imprisonment.

i find that a bit hard to believe, unless it's a recent law; i used to buy
it on many occasions at J.W.Rhodes (a department store)

- rich

    
    >>>i find that a bit hard to believe, unless it's a recent law; i used
    >>>to buy it on many occasions at J.W.Rhodes (a department store)
    
    That's the funny part. It can be found in several department stores and
    party sources but its illegal. Probably only illegal if used as an
    inhalant or something. I don't remember the exact wording of what I read.
    
    								jeff

>    >>>i find that a bit hard to believe, unless it's a recent law; i used
>    >>>to buy it on many occasions at J.W.Rhodes (a department store)
    
>    That's the funny part. It can be found in several department stores and
>    party sources but its illegal.

well, if that's the case, not too many people know about it; to settle the
question of its legality, i once actually called the Ithaca Police Department
to ask if there was any kind of permit required to buy or possess nitrous oxide
(i didn't ask about its sale); everybody i talked to kept referring me to
someone else to talk to, but nobody could answer the question; the police knew
of no permit that existed that was needed; eventually, the last person i talked
to said "why don't you ask a dentist?"

- rich

Never ask the police what the law is: always ask a lawyer.

    
    
    It probably varies from state to state.  I know that in Ohio, it's
    sufficiently de-controlled that rescue squads carry it.
    
    On my way to the Buckeye Lake show, I stopped at the fire department I
    belonged to in the early 80's in Granville.    They were proudly
    showing me all the new apparatus they'd bought since I left,
    including the new paramedic unit, complete with 3 100-lb cylinders of
    nitrous.  When I registered some surprise, they said the city
    departments had been doing it "for years."
    
    Then I suggested they let me fill a couple of balloons for the show,
    and they said "Oh, you're one of those *@#$%^&* DEADHEADS, huh?" 
    Public opinion poll: do you think Dancing Bears, Halfstep Skeletons, or
    a Steal Your Face would look best on fire apparatus?
    
    						- Carl
    

    I would avoid putting skeletons on a firetruck. ;-)
    
    Bears might work, though.
    
    tim
    

    Waltzing Bears with Fire Hoses...now that's a new one!!!
    
    

    
    nothing dangerous about nitrous???  that depends...  nitrous comes in a
    couple of different categories...  there's industrial applications for
    nitrous and the gas is NOT safe to use (the earlier comments about lead
    ring true but i don't remember the exact hazards...  the main gist
    being it's NOT clean and in fact, quite impure)...  the only "safe"
    nitrous is the stuff classifed for medical use (like the dentist)...
    even then it's arguable about it's safety...  i have seen people passed
    out (in fact, i have myself!) from too much N2O and not enough O2...
    if you want to pick nits and say that it's the lack of O2 that's
    dangerous and not the nitrous, fine...  the point is, like most things
    in the world, it can be dangerous if not used properly...
    
    also, the legality does change from state to state and it usually
    depends on "intended use"...  i have also been told that NY state
    also considers use of N2O as an inhalant to be a "mind altering
    chemical" and that sellers are treated to the same legal action
    as LSD salespeople...  don't know about the punishment, but i did
    witness a bust at Albany...  the whippets that everyone buys in the
    store CAN be legally sold because the "intended use" is not as an
    inhalant...
    
    believe it if you need it...
    
    						da ve

    there was an early folk-singer, can't remember his name but he was
    vieing for "folk-king" with Dylan in the early days, that died from
    strapping a mask over his face....

    Nitrous intended for "industrial" use -vs- "medical" has a compound
    added to it that makes people sick.  Not deadly but it does induce
    vomiting.  It is akin to the rotten egg odor they put in natural gas so
    it will be easier to detect a leak.  A common application for nitrous
    is as an inject-able into automobile turbochargeers.  You can buy it in
    parts stores but it has the adulterant and will make you sick.
    
    Too much of any good thing will lead to ill effects.  
    
    Marv