ORDINANCE NO. 839
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING TITLE 6 OF THE COMMERCE MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH CHAPTER 6.09 PROHIBITING THE SALE AND DISTRIBUTION OF
NITROUS OXIDE
WHEREAS, Article XI, section 7 of the California Constitution authorizes the City of Commerce (“City”) to make and enforce within its limits all local police, sanitary, and other ordinances and regulations not in conflict with general laws; and WHEREAS, nitrous oxide is a colorless, nonflammable gas with legitimate uses in medical and dental treatment, food preparation, automotive applications, manufacturing, and other commercial and industrial activities; and WHEREAS, nitrous oxide is also inhaled recreationally for its intoxicating effects and is commonly marketed or referred to by names including “laughing gas,” “whippets,” “whip-its,” “NOS,” “NOX,” and “galaxy gas”; and
WHEREAS, recreational inhalation of nitrous oxide can deprive the body and brain of oxygen and has been associated with loss of consciousness, neurological injury, vitamin B12 deficiency, nerve damage, impaired motor function, paralysis, asphyxiation, and death; and
WHEREAS, the intoxicating effects of nitrous oxide may also impair judgment, coordination, and the ability to safely operate a motor vehicle, thereby creating risks not only to the user but also to other members of the public; and WHEREAS, existing California law prohibits possession of nitrous oxide with the intent to inhale it for purposes of intoxication and restricts certain sales or furnishing of nitrous oxide, including sales to minors and specified furnishing with knowledge of intended unlawful inhalation; and
WHEREAS, despite those restrictions, the retail availability of nitrous oxide for lawful purposes has permitted continued access to the same substance for recreational misuse and has made enforcement dependent in significant part upon proving the purchaser’s or seller’s intent; and
WHEREAS, on September 18, 2026, the Governor Newsom signed Senate Bill (“SB”) 936, reflecting the Legislature’s determination that additional restrictions on the retail availability of nitrous oxide are necessary to address recreational misuse and
associated public-health and public-safety risks; and
WHEREAS, effective January 1, 2027, SB 936 adds Health and Safety Code section 119408, which prohibits, subject to specified exceptions, the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide containers capable of holding more than eight grams of nitrous oxide, containers from which nitrous oxide may be directly inhaled, flavored nitrous oxide, and certain devices used for inhalation; and
WHEREAS, before those restrictions become effective, state law does not impose a general prohibition on all retail sales and distribution of nitrous oxide to adults, although existing restrictions on unlawful possession, use, sale, and furnishing remain applicable; and
WHEREAS, SB 936 expressly provides that state law does not limit the authority of a city to adopt or enforce a local ordinance that further restricts the sale, furnishing, offering, or distribution of nitrous oxide; and
WHEREAS, by expressly preserving local authority to enact stricter regulations, the Legislature recognized that local governments may determine that additional restrictions are warranted to address local public-health and public-safety conditions; and
WHEREAS, although SB 936 will significantly restrict the sale of larger and other high-risk nitrous oxide products, it does not prohibit all retail sales of nitrous oxide, and certain smaller containers may remain available when their sale does not otherwise violate state law; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the availability of multiple smaller nitrous oxide containers does not eliminate the health and safety risks associated with recreational inhalation and may continue to provide a readily accessible source of nitrous oxide for recreational misuse; and
WHEREAS, the City Council further finds that prohibiting retail access to nitrous oxide within the City, while preserving legitimate medical, dental, food, automotive, manufacturing, wholesale, and other lawful commercial uses as specified in this Ordinance, will reduce opportunities for recreational misuse while avoiding unnecessary interference with those legitimate uses; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that existing federal and state regulation does not fully address the local availability of nitrous oxide for recreational misuse and that additional local regulation is therefore appropriate and necessary to protect the health, safety, and welfare of persons within the City.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COMMERCE, CALIFORNIA DOES HEREBY ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1: The foregoing recitals are true and correct and are herein adopted by this reference as the findings of the City.
SECTION 2: Chapter 6.09 is added to Title 6 of the Commerce Municipal Code, or, to the extent previously added by Urgency Ordinance No. ____, is amended and restated in its entirety, to read as follows:
CHAPTER 6.09 - NITROUS OXIDE
Section 6.09.010. Authority and Purpose.
This Chapter is enacted pursuant to the City’s police powers for the purpose of protecting the public health, safety, and welfare. The purpose of this Chapter is to reduce recreational misuse of nitrous oxide by eliminating general retail access to nitrous oxide and devices used to dispense or administer nitrous oxide, while preserving legitimate medical, dental, culinary, automotive, manufacturing, wholesale, and other lawful commercial uses.
Section 6.09.020. Definitions.
For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:
A. “Device” means any cartridge, compressed gas cylinder, canister, tank, apparatus, container, balloon, attachment, nozzle, receptacle, or other object used or designed to contain, dispense, administer, or facilitate the inhalation of nitrous oxide.
B. “Nitrous oxide” means the colorless, nonflammable gas identified by the chemical formula N2O, whether sold alone or in combination with another substance, and commonly referred to as “laughing gas,” “NOS,” “NOX,” “whippets,” “whip-its,” “galaxy gas,” or similar terminology.
C. “Person” means any natural person, firm, corporation, partnership, association, business, organization, or other legal entity.
D. “Wholesale capacity” means the sale or distribution of nitrous oxide or a device containing or dispensing nitrous oxide to a person or entity that will use the nitrous oxide or device in providing lawful services or producing lawful goods for resale, including, but not limited to, commercial sales of dental or medical supplies, products used in manufacturing or industrial operations, automotive products, or products used in commercial food preparation.
Section 6.09.030. Prohibition on Sale or Distribution of Nitrous Oxide.
Except as otherwise authorized by law or expressly permitted by this Chapter, it is unlawful for any person within the City to sell, attempt to sell, offer for sale, furnish, distribute, give away, or otherwise provide to another person:
A. Nitrous oxide in any quantity;
B. A device used or designed to dispense or administer nitrous oxide; or C. Any device, cartridge, cylinder, canister, tank, container, or other receptacle containing any quantity of nitrous oxide.
Section 6.09.040. Exceptions.
Section 6.09.030 shall not apply to the sale, furnishing, distribution, or other provision of nitrous oxide or a device containing or dispensing nitrous oxide under any of the following circumstances:
A. The nitrous oxide or device is specifically designed, marketed, and sold, offered, or distributed for use in a motor vehicle to enhance vehicle performance.
B. The nitrous oxide is being sold, attempted to be sold, offered or distributed specifically for the purpose of providing medical or dental care, by or at the direction and under the supervision of, a medical or dental practitioner licensed by the State and in accordance with all applicable rules and regulations.
C. The nitrous oxide or device is being sold, attempted to be sold, offered, distributed or dispensed by a pharmacist, pharmacist intern or pharmacy as defined by California Business and Professions Code, §§ 4030, 4036 and 4037, as may be amended, in the course of their duties as a pharmacist or pharmacist intern, or wholesalers licensed by the Board of Pharmacy.
D. The nitrous oxide is labeled and marketed as food-grade and is contained within a food product for use as a propellant or preservative.
E. The nitrous oxide or device is being sold, offered, or distributed in a wholesale capacity. This exemption only applies if the wholesaler does not know or have reason to know that the recipient intends to use the nitrous oxide or device in violation of Section
6.09.030.
F. Any other circumstances exempted under law.
Section 6.09.050. Responsibility of Business Owner or Operator.
A person who owns, operates, manages, controls, or is responsible for a business establishment shall not knowingly permit nitrous oxide or a device prohibited by this Chapter to be sold, offered for sale, furnished, distributed, or otherwise provided at the business establishment.
Section 6.09.060. Enforcement and Penalties.
A. Any person in violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a
misdemeanor. For purposes of this provision, each day that a failure to comply with the requirements of this chapter occurs shall constitute a separate violation.
B. Alternatively, violations may be addressed through the use of administrative citations as set forth in Chapter 1.13 of this Code.
C. Use of criminal enforcement and/or administrative citations shall not prevent or preclude the City from seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties in court for violation of this chapter. This section shall not serve to limit any other legal remedies or actions that the City may have to address violations of this chapter. A violation of this chapter is grounds for a revocation of a business license, if applicable, pursuant to Section
5.04.280 of the Commerce Municipal Code.
SECTION 3: CEQA. This Ordinance has been reviewed for compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and the CEQA Guidelines, and has been found to be exempt pursuant to Section 15061(b)(3) (general rule) of the CEQA Guidelines, because the City Council hereby finds with certainty that there is no possibility the passage of this Ordinance will have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 4: Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held out to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council hereby declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance and each section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more section, subsection, subdivision, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 5: Should any provisions of this Ordinance be in conflict with State law, the State law shall supersede.
SECTION 6: The City Clerk shall attest to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause the same to be posted in a newspaper of general circulation within 15 days after its passage. This ordinance shall take effect 30 days after its passage and adoption.
THE FOREGOING ORDINANCE was adopted at a regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Commerce held on the _____ day of _______, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
ABSTAIN:
______________________________
Kevin Lainez
Mayor
ATTEST:
____________________________
Eduardo Sarmiento
City Clerk