From: dwight@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Dwight Robert Stone)
Subject: Re: LAUGHING GAS
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Distribution: usa
Date: Tue, 5 Jan 1993 20:41:16 GMT

One "balloon-full" of nitrous will usually have effects for around 2-3 minutes.
It is a pleasant tingly-floaty sensation often accompanied by a feeling of
floating free of your body with a disjunction of thoughts and some loss of
sense of ego (self) when used by itself.  Nitrous is often used in combination
with other drugs.  When on marijuanna the perceived duration of the nitrous
trip will be lengthened (the time dialating effect of MJ?) and somewhat
intensified, and I have heard that when on LSD, nitrous will produce very
intense "visuals".  This, combined with its inexpensiveness and its short
lasting effects have gotten it the nickname "hippy crack".  (So that's what
all those balloons at dead concerts are for....)  Nitrous can often be
purchased in 24 packs of catridges which are the same as CO2 catridged used
for CO2 propelled pellet guns (maybe a bit smaller in size, though).  A device
that I do not know the name of is put around the cylindar with a balloon and
is tightened (it has threads) putting a pin through the narrow end of the
cylindar releasing the NO2 into the balloon.  (The balloons wear out as the
cold compressed NO2 freezes their rubber and the cold/hot transitions stress
the rubber of the ballon mouth-pieces).  It is VERY cold, (being compressed)
so putting your mouth on the piece rather than a balloon could cause severe
cold burns.  If a person has a full tank of NO2 with a mask it is (as
mentioned before) possible for a person to asphixiate themself on NO2; this
is why the dentist mixes in pure O2 with his NO2 and often people with tanks
of NO2 will also have a tank of O2 also feeding the mask.  It is not
phsyically addicting.  I have heard that with massive prolonged use that NO2
will cause a shaking of the hands, but that it would take access to a dentist's
supply of nitrous over several years to induce this damage.  Nitrous is a
psychological relaxant, and not a psyiological pain blocker; thus, when you
are at the dentist on NO2, your nerves are transmitting all of the pain, but
you just don't care :)  This makes NO2 excellent for mixing with sex, as
there is no sensation or performance dampening as is associated with
depressants such as alcohol.  It is a bit inconveinient when using balloons
(due to its short duration), but a balloon hit just (15 -30 sec?) before orgasm
will produce a very intense and hallucinigenic orgasm.  NO2 is manufactured
by directly heating Ammonium Nitrate which directly devolves into the NO2 gas
which is then collected over water (I believe) and then compressed.  Ammonium
Nitrate is a main ingrediant in many fertilizers and should thus be easily
and cheaply obtained (I have never tried to obtain it, but it should be easy
enough to get....)  The NO2 used in racing tanks is often doped with other
chemicals or is not pure enough and I have heard from people that it is doped
with a chemical that will give you a real nasty headache if inhaled.  A bit
of Nitrous trivia (rumor?): Radio City Music Hall's ventilation was designed
so that Nitrous could be pumped into the audience, thus relaxing the audience
and making them more likely to laugh at the humor.  Perhaps this is the
origin of the name "laughing gas" for nitrous oxide?
Just a little tretise on Nitrous.  Enjoy.
-- 
Dwight Stone                  I generally prefer my coffee without tentacles.
dwight@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu       Cthulhu for new University of Illinois mascot!
ORQ: "Those who know what's best for us must rise and save us from ourselves"
Grim thought of the day:  Life is just death's way of laughing up its sleeve.