Club kids in England have discovered Nitrous Oxide, also known as laughing gas. Authorites plan a clamp-down.

Although its recreational use is not illegal, those selling it have been warned they face prosecution under the Medicines Act by the Medical and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency. Promising to investigate after the issue was drawn to its attention by The Independent, a spokesman for the Agency said: "Sale of nitrous oxide for medicinal use is strictly regulated and anyone selling the drug for recreational use, whether or not they have a license, faces prosecution.''

I thought the drug went out of favor in the '70's:

The recreational aspect of the gas was highlighted by the late Hunter S Thompson in his tale of drug consumptionFear and Loathing in Las Vegas; and in the David Lynch film Blue Velvet, the nitrous oxide-addicted villain, played by Dennis Hopper, carries a tank with him. It was also used as a disabling weapon by the Joker, played by Jack Nicholson, in the first Batman film.

Guess not. While the article talks about the relative safety of the gas, I did attend a client's funeral in the late '70's who died of an overdose. But he and his friends weren't doing balloons, they were sharing a tank.