Research on the Criminal Regulation of Illegal “Laughing Gas” Operation in China

Abstract

The illegal operation of the “laughing gas” (nitrous oxide) has been widely identified as a key driver of its abuse in China. It is now prosecuted and punished under Article 225 of the Chinese Criminal Law , that is, the crime of illegal business operations, which, nevertheless, is legally problematic, whether in theory or in practice. Laughing gas can be legally used in the industrial, food, and medical fields. The criminal conviction of its illegal operation lies not in the lack of a hazardous chemical business permit, but in the misuse of its medical properties, which poses a serious risk to human health. Article 142-1 of the Chinese Criminal Law establishes the crime of obstructing drug administration, in which item 2 stipulates that “violating drug administration regulations, producing or importing drugs without obtaining relevant approval documents, or knowingly selling the above drugs, which sufficiently to endanger human health seriously”. The act of illegal operation of laughing gas belongs to the illegal operation of “drugs”, which is sufficiently serious to endanger human health and should be convicted and punished as the crime of obstructing drug administration.