Police officer on loudspeaker: 'Something extreme must be done'

People find them on streets and avenues, they find them in piles on specific locations, and they find them with drivers.

Laughing gas cylinders.

It is worth noting the large ones, typically containing more than 500 grams - and which are illegal to carry unless they are used for business or medical purposes.

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> It is completely insane

> Peter Veje, Section Leader in Copenhagen Police

The police are experiencing an increase in the number of drivers driving around in a laughing gas spree. This is what Peter Veje, who is a police commissioner and section leader in the Traffic Police in Copenhagen, says.

- It is part of our control to check if there are any cylinders in the trunk or in the car. And we encounter it more and more often.

Peter Veje is a police commissioner and section leader in the Traffic Police in Copenhagen. He says that it can cost lives when people inhale laughing gas and drive a car. He says that they already have examples of families who nearly died, because they were hit by a car, where it was later found that the driver had laughing gas in the car or blood. (Photo: © Alex Berg /DR, DR)

And it is incredibly dangerous to drive and inhale laughing gas, he emphasizes.

- What happens with laughing gas is that it shuts down the brain. It simply means that when you have inhaled a certain amount, you will pass out. And when one drives a car, it is as if the driver is unconscious. So it is completely insane.

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Using extreme measures

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Legislation in the area has been tightened several times in an attempt to get people to stop using laughing gas as a recreational drug. Despite this, several waste management companies report large increases in the number of delivered laughing gas cylinders.

Read also: The law has been tightened, but large laughing gas cylinders are still everywhere ( https://www.dr.dk/news/domestic/the-law-has-been-tightened-but-large-laughing-gas-cylinders-are-still-everywhere )

Peter Veje believes that something drastic must be done.

- We will soon have to see if we cannot do something really extreme in terms of legislation, so we can stop this, before it runs completely off the rails.

It has not been possible to get an interview with Business Minister Morten Bødskov (S) about the police's request.

But the Social Democrats' consumer spokesperson, Karin Gaardsted, says that she listens to the police and refers to the fact that the Safety Authority has been given permission to use fake profiles in the hunt for laughing gas sellers ( https://www.dr.dk/news/latest/now-it-is-allowed-for-authorities-to-use-fake-profiles-in-the-hunt-for-laughing-gas ).

- We are giving a new tool to those who control. And the Safety Authority will of course collaborate with the police, if there are announcements of laughing gas vendors on closed Facebook groups.

- This is so to speak a rather severe tool, but we are forced to match what is happening in the criminal world, she says.

But is it good enough?

- Yes, we have to try. Now it has only been in effect for four days, so we cannot expect a result yet. But in a few months, I expect to receive a message from the Safety Authority, whether there is progress, and whether they continue with this action, says Karin Gaardsted.

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