The Literature of Laughing Gas

I logged in here with a throwaway account just to caution people that for a small percentage of users it is highly addictive. Some call it 'hippie crack' with good reason. After using it off and on for years and becoming more addicted, my last binge lasted two weeks and I ended up in a dissociative nightmare with nerve damage and a rash all over my body.

The observations on thoughts match my experiments about two weeks ago with the stuff. I had the profound revelation that our perception is only about 1/10th of reality. It was vastly enlightening- I realized it wasn't necessary to sweat or worry over my perceptions, they're only a small chunk of what is really going on.

Also, during that experiment, I did some research via Erowid and discovered this fascinating article about "Nitrous gangs." [0] It turns out, nitrous at music festivals is a highly profitable and banned venture. To thwart this, gangs have been organizing financially and physically to sell nitrous to concert-goers without getting caught by organizers. The article reads a bit like a Pricenomics entry:

[0] http://www.villagevoice.com/2010-07-06/music/hippie-crack-ni...

Recreational use of nitrous oxide is not necessarily harmless, although it is relatively mild and short-acting compared to other drugs. Excessive intake can lead to convulsions and repeated abuse can result in damage to Broca's area, a speech center of the brain, which can result in aphasia. This is also thought to be a problem for ketamine abusers IIRC.

Tangentially related: While expecting our first child, I learned that hospitals are now offering nitrous oxide to mothers during childbirth. The mother inhales just for the duration of the contraction. Apparently, the gas nitrous doesn't stay in the body as long as opiates and less likely to affect the baby.