Nitrous Oxide “creamchargers” are used for whipped cream dispensers. My understanding they are also used, in some way or another, as a recreational drug. Can someone tell me exactly how they are used and what, if any, negative side effects result from usage? Thanks.
Need answer fast?
Isn’t Nitrous Oxide what is sometimes called laughing gas? I believe it’s used by dentists to relax a patient prior to a procedure. Your average Joe couldn’t buy a tank full of it which is what I think you would need for recreational use. Here’s a pdf on side effects.
I hate to disagree with you, but the “whippets” used for whipped cream chargers each contain 8 grams of N2O, enough for a recreational hit of nitrous oxide. You use them to fill balloons and inhale it from the balloon. You don’t want to take a hit directly from the whippet, or maybe you do, I don’t know you that well.
Are you saying that it takes a whole tank full to get high on nitrous oxide? This is definitely untrue, a single whipped cream charger will get you high (for a couple of minutes), and you can buy as many chargers as you want. To answer the OP’s question about how the chargers are used, a common technique is to use a cracker (like this) to puncture the seal of the charger and let the contents expand into a balloon, then detach the balloon from the breaker and inhale the balloon contents. (Never inhale directly from the charger – the expanding gas will freeze your lungs.) You can also use a charging bottle like this, which is more expensive and less portable.
More info here: [link removed]
There’s a whole Wikipedia page about it. Negative side effects? If you inhale directly from a “cracker” used for piercing the charger, the gas that comes out is extremely cold, and you can develop frostbite on your lips and in your respiratory tract. One of the effects is dizziness and lack of coordination, so if you’re using it while standing, you can get hurt during the fall. Contaminants in the gas may have their own harmful health effects. And if you inhale too much nitrous and not enough oxygen, brain damage and death may be in your future.
Plenty of videos on YouTube showing recreational use of nitrous oxide with balloons.
One euphemism for this is “hippie crack.” People tend to go through boxes at a time (there are usually 20 in a box).
In my experience, occasional recreational use won’t cause long term damage. But it does make you feel slow after a night of doing them. And people who pour it into a balloon and try to breathe repeatedly through that can easily cause themselves to black out - The most important safety tip is to be sitting down if you ingest them.
But, ultimately it is huffing gas, which I understand is contra-indicated for all sorts of reasons. I most strenuously do not recommend making this a habit (and, of course, using products in ways not intended by the manufacturer - who markets this as a whip cream making product - may violate laws in your area).
Yep, that’s how I used to do whippets. Good times.
Moderator Note
Note that we have a rule against posts that, in our opinion, encourage activities that are illegal in the U.S. The way we typically enforce this with recreational drug related questions is that you are free to discuss the effects of the drug, etc. but we don’t allow too much “how to” information.
This thread is getting a little too much into “how to” type details.
I have removed the link from markn+'s post, though I am at work and I can’t verify what is actually on that site. I will double-check it again tonight when I am home and can access the page and may restore it if the link doesn’t go into the types of details that we don’t want posted here.
I am going to leave this thread open, but let’s avoid any further “how to” type info. The OP was curious about how people use this drug, so a certain amount of information regarding that is necessary to answer the question, but we don’t want this thread to turn into a handy reference for aspiring huffers.
Is there something special about N20 that you need it to pressurize a whipped cream can? Wouldn’t C02 or something work as well?
They are used by stupid people to do stupid things and the end result is that they become even more stupid.
Under pressure, nitrous dissolves in the unwhipped cream. When the pressure is relieved (as when the cream flows out through the nozzle and onto your apple pie), the nitrous comes out of solution and forms a gazillion tiny bubbles.
CO2 would produce the same physical results, but it would also make the cream taste funny.
Air could be used provide the pressure to drive the cream out of the can, but it wouldn’t dissolve in the cream in sufficient quantity to whip the cream when it comes out of the can; you’d just get runny cream drooling all over your pie. So to speak.
From my experience it was a pretty awesome drug. It was like a strong dose of mushrooms that went away very quickly. It never got scary because it was done so fast so you had a lot of control of your high.
I also remember becoming pretty weary of the addicting aspects of it. It was one of the few drugs where even weeks later my brain was saying “we should do that again and soon”
Disagree. Most of my whippets use was during college, with a group of friends who were all science/engineering/premed majors and are all doing really well today. 
Fair cautious moderating, but it’s not illegal in the United States. A few states regulate the sale of it but only a few make it illegal. Here’s a page. IANAL so I can’t comment on some of the vaguer legalese (looks like Kentucky’s law is narrow enough to not include NO2). Looks like CA, IA, MN, OR, probably a few others, name it. It looks like Illinois does not name it as a prohibited drug, and I think IL law is the main limitation on SDMB discussions?
“Nitrous oxide is used because it migrates easily into the cream, and does not cause the cream to oxidize while it is in the can.”
As far as intoxicants go it’s fairly safe. But there is a nonzero danger from its use, including effects on hypoxia.
Maybe it comes down to the difference between 0xygen and Oxygen.
(Probably too subtle a point for the nitrous-users in here to grasp.)
CO2 makes carbonated whipped cream. It’s not very good.
From what I’ve seen explained on cooking shows it’s absorbed into liquids better than CO2.
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I’ve had nitrous gas at the dentist. You still have to get the numbing shot with the, IIRC 5 inch needle, but, you just don’t care. For one thing, it just really doesn’t hurt as much, because your skin is a little numb, and second, you just don’t care as long as the gas in coming. You are flying.
I doubt you could get the same effects from hits off a balloon full of whipped cream propulsant. Just see your dentist regularly. If you are like me, and have a history of throwing up at the dentist, they will give you nitrous even just for cleanings. Totally relaxes your gag reflex. Plus, you have good teeth.
I have tried in the past to get high from legal drugs like opiates, and it doesn’t happen for me. Pot just makes me kinda confused, and a little sleepy. Nitrous actually gets me high, and it’s the only thing that ever has.
Now, I have never taken anything like heroin, and have no intention of doing so, just to find out if it’s better or worse than the gas at the dentist.
The one drawback of the gas is that if a procedure takes more than an hour, my nasal passages can get a little irritated.
So, that’s what I know. I think I’ve kept that to “experience,” and not “technique.” If I’m wrong, mods can feel free to edit. This is new territory for me. I don’t have a lot of drug (as opposed to medication) experience, and this is really the first time I’ve had something to contribute.