An MP has come out against the possible criminalisation of nitrous oxide or 'nos'.

Priti Patel has vowed to take tough action on laughing gas, as she ordered a review into its effects.

Nitrous oxide, usually used through balloons filled from cannisters of the gas, is one of the most popular party drugs among young people.

The small metal cylinders are often seen littering areas around nightclubs, music festivals and parks.

Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, Lloyd Russell-Moyle, took to Twitter to voice his thoughts on the possible new law.

"Criminalising a drug which killed less than 30 people in 20 years (boiled sweets kill more people p.a.), use has not risen in ten years and for most causes no long term damage is a good way to waste police time and ruin people’s lives with convictions," he said.

He went on to say that the Home Office should not have a say on drugs policy and that criminalising drug use is not the way forward.

He said: "Home Office should have no say on drugs policy. There should be two aims: health of individuals and of those around them, minimising harm & supporting treatment for addiction.

"Treating drug consumption as a crime makes use more dangerous, communities more violent & increases crime."

The drug is widely available online as the cannisters can be used to make whipped cream.

The Home Secretary has asked the independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to review the effects of the gas, last July the government said it did not plan to criminalise possession of it.

The Royal Society for Public Health opposed Patel’s move, Burcu Borysik, its head of policy, told The Guardian: "The government’s insistence on criminalisation and incarceration for minor drug offences worsens problems linked to illicit drug use, including social inequality and violence,"

"The heavy-handed enforcement approach to drugs does nothing but spread fear among young people, prevents them from seeking the support they need, and unnecessarily drags them into the criminal justice system."

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