Executive summary
1. The UK government announced its decision on 28 March to control nitrous oxide under Class C of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (‘the 1971 Act’). Control under the 1971 Act means that it will be unlawful to possess, supply, import, export or produce the substance, unless an exemption applies (for example, for use in healthcare) or the person undertaking the activity holds an appropriate licence.

2. Nitrous oxide has widespread legitimate and beneficial uses, including in medical, dental, and veterinary settings. It is also used as a fuel additive, a food additive and food extraction solvent and has other widespread uses in industrial processes. The government wishes to minimise the effect of controlling nitrous oxide on those who seek to use it for legitimate purposes, while restricting its availability to those who seek to misuse it.

3. The consultation Nitrous oxide: legitimate uses and appropriate controls, which ran from 2 May 27 June, sought responses to three proposals to enable the legitimate access to nitrous oxide. Proposals 1 and 3 included a requirement to obtain a licence for some purposes, while Proposal 2 would exempt the import, export, possession, production and supply of nitrous oxide from the offences under the 1971 Act, where this is for legitimate purposes, and there would be no need for the vast majority of such users to obtain a licence. Proposal 2 would result in the least burdens on individuals and businesses who seek to use nitrous oxide for a legitimate purpose. The consultation also sought to identify the full range and scale of legitimate uses for nitrous oxide, as well as the mechanisms and nitrous oxide products required for these purposes.

4. The government received 105 responses to the consultation: 84 were responses to the online survey and 21 were received by email. Four of these were received after the deadline and have been considered. There may be duplication in online and email responses if respondents responded to the survey as well as by email. The figures below relate to the online survey consultation unless specified.

5. Alongside seeking to ascertain the extent and nature of legitimate use, the consultation sought views on three proposals:

Proposal 1 – Licensing for all legitimate purposes (outside healthcare).

This would introduce a licensing requirement for all uses of nitrous oxide.

Exemptions would apply for use in healthcare, as with other drugs.

Proposal 2 – No requirements for licensing for legitimate purposes.

This would exempt the import, export, possession, production and supply of nitrous oxide from the offences under the 1971 Act where this is for legitimate purposes.

• exemptions would apply for use in healthcare, as with other drugs.
• Legitimate purposes will be defined in legislation, and the information gathered through this consultation will inform the scope and content of that definition.

Proposal 3 – Licensing for import, export, production, supply and an exemption for possession for legitimate purposes

• an individual or organisation who wished to possess nitrous oxide for a legitimate purpose (as defined in the legislation) would not require a licence for this activity. 
• exemptions would apply for use in healthcare, as with other drugs.

6. The target group for the survey were those with a legitimate business or personal interest in nitrous oxide. The government sought to engage those with such interests through government departments and agencies such as the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, the Department for Business and Trade, the Food Standards Agency, Food Standards Scotland, and trade bodies. The government also engaged with the Department for Health Northern Ireland, which is responsible for implementing changes to the Misuse of Drugs (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2002, which would be necessary to enable the legitimate access to nitrous oxide in Northern Ireland once it is controlled under the 1971 Act.

7. The government has now analysed the responses, and these are summarised in this document. The majority of respondents to the section in the online survey about the impact of the three proposals (48 out of 77 responses, 62%) felt that Proposal 2 – which would not require licensing for legitimate purposes - would have either a low or no impact on their organisation or business in terms of loss of revenue or administrative burden. This compared with 22% (17) of respondents reporting low or no impact for proposal 1 and 35% (27) for Proposal 3.

8. Proposal 1 was deemed to have the highest impact with 43% (33) of respondents reporting that it would have a high impact on revenue and result in an administrative burden. This compared with 10% (8) for proposal 2 and 19% (15) for Proposal 3.

9. The main concerns about the proposals related to cost, time and administrative burden, in particular in relation to Proposal 1, and some mention of potential risks of increased theft, as well as some calls for more clarity on what the proposals would mean in practice.

10. The other key findings from the consultation highlighted that, of those who responded, individual members of the public most commonly use nitrous oxide for food and catering purposes. Among business users, the predominant uses reported are for medicinal, dentistry and veterinary purposes.

11. Further to this, 51% (32 out of 63) of respondents agreed with the given definition of legitimate use: ‘Legitimate use’ refers to uses of nitrous oxide which is not for its psychoactive effect in a recreational capacity’. Very few respondents are aware of viable alternatives (7 out of 39).

12. The responses to the consultation have helped the government to design a legal framework that will permit the use of nitrous oxide for legitimate purposes once it is controlled under Class C of the 1971 Act....

[Please see the Home Office website for the full consultation and also, Government response: ACMD advice on scheduling and lawful access to nitrous oxide.