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Huntington Beach council votes 5–0 to prohibit retail sale and distribution of nitrous oxide for recreational use
Summary
Following council discussion citing rising arrests and health risks, Huntington Beach moved to adopt an ordinance to prohibit sale and distribution of nitrous oxide for recreational use; council approved the motion 5–0.
Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to move forward with an ordinance prohibiting the retail sale and distribution of nitrous oxide for recreational use.
Councilwoman Gracie Vandermark, who brought the item forward, said nitrous oxide (commonly sold as whipped-cream chargers or “whip-its”) has become widely available to young people in convenience and smoke shops and cited short- and long-term health risks. “Nitrous oxide is inexpensive, packaged in colorful and youth oriented designs, and readily available,” Vandermark said, describing a recent sharp increase in local arrests.
Council members cited Huntington Beach Police Department figures presented to the council: 28 nitrous-oxide arrests in 2023, 89 in 2024 and 113 so far in 2025. Supporters said local ordinances adopted by neighboring cities and Orange County served as models for enforcement and closed a distribution loophole that allows retail sale under culinary exemptions.
During discussion, a councilmember clarified that restaurants and food-service businesses will continue to obtain culinary-use nitrous oxide through distributors, so the ordinance is aimed at retail sales intended for recreational inhalant use.
The motion to proceed with the ordinance passed on a roll call vote of 5–0 (Councilman Butch Twining, Mayor Pro Tem McKeon, Mayor Burns, Councilwoman Gracie Vandermark and Councilman Grull). The staff report and ordinance language will be returned to the council for further consideration and any required findings and enforcement details.
