The Tucson City Council passed an ordinance in November to restrict the sale of nitrous oxide canisters, also known as whip-its, that teens can use to get high.
Neighborhood advocates, parents and police might be concerned about this problem in metro Tucson, but in South Tucson, some say it is a different story.
“We’re not aware of a problem here in South Tucson,” said Police Chief Richard Munoz.
South Tucson’s Public Works Director, Angel M. Lopez also said that while he knows what the canisters are and their use, he does not think there are any problems with abuse in South Tucson.
Munoz said his department is aware of the ordinance passed in Tucson, but “at this time, we don’t have anything on the books.”
“If they start getting popular we may have to look at it,” Munoz said. “We do keep track of these issues.”
The ordinance passed in Tucson orders stores that carry the small silver cartridges to keep them behind store counters, out of the reach of children. The ordinance also restricts sales of the canisters to people 18 years or older, adding nitrous to the already long list of items such as cigarettes, certain medication and pornography.
Perhaps there is no problem with nitrous oxide abuse in South Tucson because whip-its aren’t readily available.
A number of convenience and liquor stores and smoke shops in South Tucson surveyed for this story also said they did not carry the canisters.
One employee at T&T Market, at 2048 S. Sixth Ave. said that the owners specifically choose not to sell whip-its because “kids use them to get high.”
