With deaths skyrocketing, Congressman calls for ban on retail nitrous oxide sales

(InvestigateTV) — Julia Charleston has lived with the kind of stress only the loved ones of deployed servicemembers can truly understand. Her son, Robert Howland, served in the Air Force – and did two tours – serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“There were some scary moments. I remember Rob calling me from Iraq and saying, ‘I just wanted to call and tell you I love you’,” she said. “I knew something was going on, but he wouldn’t talk too much about it.”

Howland survived an airstrike that he told his mother had claimed the lives of some of his fellow airmen. He had no physical injuries when he finally came home. But Charleston had no idea that her son was living with invisible scars from his time overseas – coping with the pain of his conflict experience by abusing nitrous oxide – a recreational drug.

“That’s such a huge contrast between coming back from war basically and then fighting a whole different war, a secret war I didn’t even know about,” she said.

The battle with nitrous addiction is being fought by people across the country. And the fight has a grim trendline. A 2025 study from the University of Mississippi found a 500-percent spike in reported nitrous-related deaths between 2010-2023.

That spike, a 2025 InvestigateTV investigation found, has been fueled by a system that has made giant nitrous tanks containing potentially hundreds of hits widely available for sale – with many laws allowing the drug to be marketed as a “culinary product”, even though it’s routinely sold for illicit recreational use at vape shops, convenience stores, and gas stations as well as online retailers.

States from coast to coast have attempted to crack down on the problem - creating a patchwork of regulation. But a California congressman says it’s time for federal intervention – proposing a national ban on retail sales with the hope of saving lives.

‘Nitrous oxide is poison. It’s pure poison’

By March of 2022, Charleston said her son – who was living in Michigan, hundreds of miles from her home in Alabama - had become increasingly erratic and was experiencing paranoia that was obvious in their phone calls. Then he went missing.

After sending friends to Howland’s house and putting out repeated calls, Charleston went to Michigan herself – and discovered a war zone.

“Every square inch of that house was filled with these empty tanks. All over the deck outside, in garbage bags, on his bed, on his couch. Every corner of the house was just littered with these giant tanks, and I had no clue. I had no clue what it was,” she said.

It was nitrous oxide. And after an agonizing 63 days without answers or knowing where her son had gone after leaving his home, Howland’s remains were found. Nitrous had claimed another casualty.

“When it’s misused, it’ll kill you. Just like it did my son,” Charleston said.

Misuse of nitrous oxide is common, according to data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. A 2023 report from the federal agency found more than 13 million people have reported using nitrous – inhaling the gas from balloons or even straight from the canister.

Investigations across the country find nitrous widely available in stores, online

Nitrous oxide has legitimate uses in both clinical and culinary settings. At the dentist’s office, it’s administered to dull pain. Commercial kitchens often use nitrous to create whipped toppings for dessert or coffee.

But in 2025, InvestigateTV found giant tanks of nitrous marketed as “culinary products” for sale – both at retail shops across the country and online. The tanks we purchased came in colorful packaging, had sweet flavors, and came with warnings not to inhale. They’re sold under names like Miami Magic, Baking Bad and Galaxy Gas – companies called out directly in a warning about nitrous issued by the FDA last year.

Gerrie Gray-Benedi knows the messaging many see lurking behind the marketing. Her son got swept up in nitrous abuse that nearly killed him – with his addiction eventually leading to blood clots in both of his lungs.

“He was on the brink of death. And the ER doctor told me that had I not brought him in, he probably would have died from this,” she said.

Gray-Benedi said her son got hooked after purchasing tanks from retail shops where her family lives in Virginia, visiting the same store again and again to buy nitrous without any questions.

The experience prompted her to advocate for legislation, with her testimony helping Virginia legislators pass a law putting limits on sales and distribution of the product.

In Virginia, sales of nitrous marketed in fruit or candy flavors are now illegal, thanks in part to Gray-Benedi’s advocacy. That state has also limited legal purchasing to industries with legitimate nitrous uses – including those in the medical field, catering or restaurant business operators, and academic researchers.

But Gray-Benedi believes more needs to be done.

“It was horrifying to know that a drug like this is sold legally across the United States and online was so easy to purchase. And there are no limitations on what people are able to get,” she said. “Shame on you. Shame on you for putting a product out there that within eight months almost killed my son.”

InvestigateTV investigation prompts action by major online retailers

Last year, InvestigateTV purchased nitrous tanks sold online by smaller companies as well as big-name retailers. After sending Walmart photos and links to what we bought online, the company pulled nitrous tanks off its website. Just weeks ago, we checked to see if the products were available for purchase on Walmart.com, but we found no nitrous available.

Our team also purchased nitrous oxide tanks from Amazon as part of our 2025 investigation. When contacted, the company told us this product safety issue was on its radar, and it was working to implement proactive safety measures. But as recently as this May, InvestigateTV was able to locate and buy nitrous from a third party on its site.

After contacting the company again, Amazon said it pulled the product and put the seller under review, saying the packaging implies it’s not compliant with company policies put in place after our 2025 story aired.

The new rules implemented by Amazon ban the sale of nitrous for recreational use, flavored nitrous oxide, and packages of nitrous bigger than a certain size or quantity.

Congressman pitches retail ban to crack down on recreational nitrous sales

Local Gray TV stations from coast to coast have found nitrous tanks for sale as part of local investigations as well. States, including Tennessee and Louisiana, have passed bans on recreational sales directly following those reports. But some believe the patchwork solution isn’t enough.

“There are still loopholes, and there are still states that are burying their heads in the sand at the moment. We want to raise the level of attention here,” said U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, a California Democrat.

Mullin said that the issue of nitrous abuse was something brought to his attention by lawmakers at the local level in his home district, which includes San Francisco. His biggest concern, he said, is that young people are the target of nitrous marketing.

“It’s being sold as a party drug, and people’s lives are being lost because of it,” he said.

That’s why Mullin has proposed legislation that would create a ban on retail sales of nitrous nationwide, hoping to curtail recreational use.

“Something with this danger level requires a federal response,” he said. “I’m under no illusions that this will be easy to do, whenever you talk about banning a product. But we’re very careful to carve out the appropriate medical and dental uses of nitrous oxide, commercial and industrial uses in kitchen settings.”

InvestigateTV attempted to reach the National Smoke Shop Association for reaction to the proposed legislation. The organization, which claims to represent the retail outlets where we found nitrous oxide frequently being sold, has no listing of its leadership or public way to contact them. The National Association of Tobacco Outlets also did not respond to repeated requests for comments.

Mullin’s bill is gaining momentum – and Republican support. U.S. Rep. Stephanie Bice, of Oklahoma, joined as a co-sponsor after being contacted by Candi Morris, whose story was featured in InvestigateTV’s investigation last year.

Morris’ son, Maddix Bias, was a passenger in a car that crashed after prosecutors said the driver abused nitrous behind the wheel. Since her son’s death, Morris has been fighting for legislation at the state and federal levels. Her work helped Oklahoma lawmakers earlier this year pass a bill named in her son’s honor. That legislation bans recreational sales of nitrous.

Impacted families join forces to fight for federal legislation

As mothers like Morris celebrate victories at the state level, they’re still calling for action on Mullin’s federal bill. His legislation was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce in March.

Morris – as well as Julia Charleston - want a hearing to have their voices heard on Capitol Hill. They’re joining together to lobby for Mullin’s bill and laws around the country, as part of a Facebook community of families impacted by nitrous abuse. It’s called PANOS – People Against Nitrous Oxide. Charleston started the group after her son’s death, hoping the network would not only provide support, but also solutions to a growing problem.

“It really doesn’t matter to me what side of the aisle you sit on. I’m just hoping we come together, in unity - to be a strong force to get this stuff off the market and out of the hands of our loved ones,” she said. “Growing up, I used to always tell Rob, ‘It’s you and I against the world.’ And so that’s how I feel now. That it’s still Rob and I against the world. This is his legacy. This is what he wanted; he wanted to help people. I’m just carrying out his dream. And I think he’d be really proud of me.”