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County Recommends Fortuna Nitrous Oxide Ban · KMUD News

• 0:00
  Speaker A: Defined by its police chief as an issue in the community. Fortuna is moving toward a nitrous oxide ban, but at least one council member intends to vote against it. At the August 18th Fortuna City Council meeting, there was a show of support, albeit not unanimous, for an ordinance targeting nitrous oxide. A ban is in effect in the county's unincorporated areas and Katie Jo Slaughter of Humboldt's Environmental Health Division detailed the results of a countywide Nitrous Oxide access study of 144 retail businesses visited by county staff between October 2024 and April 2025. 24 had nitrous oxide products in plain sight. Fortuna Police Chief Matthew Eberhard said the city needs a ban and he told of a recent arrest including a nitrous canister of epic proportions.
• 1:01
  Speaker B: Less than five days ago we had our most recent arrest related to this. Our officer arrested a 24 year old female in possession of a large canister of nitrous oxide. And when I talk about large canister, we've all seen Stanley cups. Imagine way bigger than that. We are seeing from the start of my career to where I'm at now, we saw a lot of small whippet containers, but it is more canisters we're dealing with. The usage is getting worse.
• 1:31
  Speaker A: Nitrous oxide is a gas that's inhaled by users seeking recreational drug effects, including euphoria and sedation. The trouble is its long term side effects include memory loss, vitamin B12 depletion, weakened immune system and neurological damage. Use of nitrous oxide has been linked to vehicle accident deaths and Slaughter said a watershed moment for those of us who work in prevention occurred in May of 2024 when a nitrous affected driver killed a pedestrian in Eureka. Speaking during a public comment period, County Supervisor Michelle Bushnell said nitrous use is very prominent in southern Humboldt and she knows many folks down there that have been paralyzed. She related some direct observations of nitrous impacts.
• 2:27
  Speaker C: I watch people out in front of my store in Garberville, my retail store, sit there in their cars and huff nitrous until they're flopping like a fish. It's pretty unbelievable. Also around 10 years ago my vehicle was stolen and a young woman, a young woman stole my vehicle and she had a crash down by the Highway 36 exit. She hit a man and killed him in my car and there was nitrous oxide found. The little whippets found everywhere in the car. It's a very dangerous substance. I urge and plead and beg with your counsel to please, please Consider this. It's very important for our youth, for the health of our community.
• 3:12
  Speaker A: Under the county's ban, selling nitrous oxide is a misdemeanor crime and can result in loss of a tobacco license. Eberhard recommended going a step further and also making it an administrative violation with an additional fine of up to $1,000. With two of its members absent, the council decided to hold off on giving any staff direction. But council member Abe Stephens, who owns Humboldt Distillery, likened responsible use of nitrous oxide to responsible alcohol use and said he doesn't support a ban.
• 3:50
  Speaker D: I'm planning on voting against it just because I'm kind of an advocate for personal liberties and, you know, trusting adults to make decisions in the privacy of their own home. As far as the sales to children and the littering, it seems like there are already laws against that. So, you know, I, as a business owner, I make alcohol, so I have to wrestle with the social cost of it. You know, I would like to think people are going to use it just for responsibly, but I do recognize that it's going to be abused and potentially causing drunk and drive accidents and, you know, addiction and, you know, that's kind of something that we as a society kind of live with, with our kind of living in a free country, basically free to make your own choices.
• 4:39
  Speaker A: But Stevens joined a unanimous vote to revisit a ban when the full council is present. The meeting's general public comment period included follow up from residents of Royal Crest Mobile Home Estates urging development of a mobile home park rent control ordinance last month. They pleaded for protection from what they described as greedy rent increases. And the council agreed to hire an outside attorney to help review a potential ordinance and hold a workshop on it. Rural Crest residents asked for an agenda item on it at the next council meeting, but there was no comment from staff or council members about it. For KMUD News, this is Daniel Mintz.