The ‘toughest anti-nang laws in the country' only work if you enforce them
On the day then-health minister Amber-Jade Sanderson proclaimed a ban on 'nangs' last October, I walked into a convenience store and bought the illegal nitrous oxide gas canisters — no questions, no ID, no proof of purchase, no problem.
Day one of the new regulations, fair enough, give them time, despite a promise to 'enforce compliance from today', having long sounded a warning the ban was coming.
That was seven months ago. But this week, I walked into that same convenience store and tested their compliance as part of a 9News Perth investigation.
Once again, no questions, no problems. Ten nangs for $10.
Tobacconists and retailers in the Perth CBD and Northbridge are flagrantly flouting the law. And why wouldn't they, when the state government is not policing what it touted as the 'toughest laws in the country'.
9News Perth and WAtoday revealed this week that not a single fine has been issued by the Department of Health for the sale of nangs.
It is difficult to believe, when any teenager — or at least anyone with a working debit card — can buy the popular and potentially deadly party gas in the ubiquitous corner stores or even online, delivered to your door in under 30 minutes, just like Uber Eats.
Nangs give users a high when they inhale the gas. And they are popular; an ED doctor even told me during my investigation that he had used nangs.
They can also cause seizures, heart attacks, psychosis, or irreversible neurological damage — like the case of Perth teenager Molly Day, who paid the price for the cheap thrill.
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