Nitrous oxide canisters — also known as ‘whippets’ — found at Mass. high school
Multiple cans of nitrous oxide , commonly known as "whippets," were found outside Dartmouth High School on Wednesday morning, prompting a warning from police on the drug's modern-day resurgence.
"The inhalation of nitrous oxide is unfortunately becoming increasingly popular, especially in younger individuals," a Wednesday Dartmouth Police Department statement read.
"What many may think is harmless and 'just recreational,' can cause serious, significant harm," the department said. The superintendent of Dartmouth public schools did not immediately respond to MassLive for comment.
A photo shared by the police department showed 12 gold-colored nitrous oxide canisters alongside boxes labeled "Gold Whip." Officers said the cans were found in the school's parking lot, and an investigation has been opened to determine how they ended up there.
These larger, colorful canisters of commercially-branded nitrous oxide are the modern-day version of "whippets." They have been widely available only in convenience stores, vape shops, and other marketplaces since around 2017, ostensibly for making whipped cream.
They're also worlds away from the tiny eight-gram charge canisters of plain NO2 commonly available in grocery store baking sections and from the canisters found in dental offices or restaurants.
Used medically as "laughing gas," the concept of inhaling nitrous oxide to induce a five- to 20-second "high" is nothing new. Its recreational abuse was seen more widely in the U.S. in the mid- to late 20th century after its discovery in the 18th century.
But experts and police warn that what makes today's problem of nitrous oxide misuse different from what it was two to five decades ago is the branding and accessibility of the drug, along with the quantity of the gas in the container.
"The big thing that's changing is there's more sales in gas stations, convenience stores and over the internet ... where there's scents that would be attractive," C. Michael White said in a 2025 interview. White is a University of Connecticut professor and chair of pharmacy practice at the UConn School of Pharmacy.
"The other thing that's changed, that has probably made it more dangerous, is that they've come up with a larger size canister — an industrial-sized sort of thing," he said.
These large, flavored canisters are "more accessible, easier to misuse, and visually more appealing (especially for younger individuals)," Dartmouth police said.
Since the summer of 2024, nitrous oxide misuse has come to the attention of town officials across Massachusetts — including in the Greater Boston communities of Melrose, Wakefield and Stoneham, according to Anthony Chui, the director of health and human services for the towns.
"In the last six months, it's come to our attention more — we've been receiving anecdotal reports of nitrous oxide misuse," Chui said in a February 2025 interview. At the time, at least six people since the summer before that had been found unconscious in confined spaces from inhaling nitrous oxide to get "high," Chui said.
Some of them were found passed out at the wheel of a car; all of them were people in their 20s and 30s, he said. The incidents, while anecdotally reported, raised alarms for the regional health department as it sought to understand the scope of what it considered a potential budding community problem.
"This is something that we're looking into. I wouldn't say that we have an established issue yet, but we are definitely concerned about the increase in potential use," Chui said at the time.
Dartmouth police warned that inhaling nitrous oxide can lead to dangerous short‑term effects — such as loss of consciousness, impaired judgment and hypoxia — as well as long‑term neurological damage. The department urged parents and students to take the risks seriously and to recognize the signs of misuse.
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