Outside Boston Phish Show, Police Seize 67 Nitrous Canisters

BOSTON — Police said they confiscated 67 canisters of nitrous oxide outside Fenway Park before a Phish concert Friday. It's common for people to sell balloons of nitrous outside Phish concert venues. But yes, that is illegal.

Just before the concert, officers said they saw a large group inhaling nitrous balloons. The colorless gas, also called laughing gas, is commonly used for sedation and pain relief. But it is also used by people to get high, according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

Police did not indicate if anyone was ticketed Friday. The confiscated nitrous canisters were removed by the Boston Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Unit.

Inhaling or selling noxious vapors like nitrous is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail and a $200 fine in Massachusetts.

Nitrous is classified as a dissociative anaesthetic and has been found to produce a sense of floating and distorted perception. It can also lead to a heart attack.

Inhaling nitrous can be fatal if you don’t get enough oxygen, according to drug experts. Long term, it can cause memory loss, incontinence, spasms, ringing in the ear and brain and nerve damage, among other side affects.