’Doof king’: Dealer’s high stakes delivery plan
NANGS, whippits, laughing gas, hippy crack. These are all drug slang for a small but potent product that was about to begin door-to-door delivery in Cairns.
A new distribution business was due to launch this weekend offering fast delivery of whipped-cream chargers across the city.
"Coming soon to Cairns City and northern beaches," an Instagram post from the Cairns Express Whip Delivery page stated.
"Cream chargers delivered to your door in less than a few hours.
"Taking small pre-orders now."
In the party drug scene, they provide a cheap and quick high that leaves brains buzzing for about a minute of anaesthetised dissociation.
Their misuse is on the rise, and Cairns police are concerned.
"Any individual that sells these items knowing they are being used for purposes other than the intended use are liable for prosecution," Acting Inspector Gary Hunter warned.
Users "crack" the cartridge in a whipped cream gun or soda siphon and inhale the contents, often using a balloon to hyperventilate the laughing gas inside.
Dizziness, blurred vision, uncoordinated movements, confusion and loss of consciousness are all short-term effects, as well as feelings of euphoria and sedation.
Queensland Health warns long-term effects can include memory loss, incontinence, numbness in the hands or feet, limb spasms, lowered immune system, anaemia and Vitamin B12 depletion, which can cause brain and spinal damage.
"Extended use can also cause people to experience depression and develop psychosis," a Queensland Health warning states.
Named after the distorted clanging sounds that reverberate in a user's head after a hit, nangs exist in a strange legal grey area. They are only illegal to sell if the vendor reasonably believes the purchaser plans to misuse them, and there is also no minimum age limit blocking sales to minors.
Cairns Express Whip Delivery's use of "party possum" and "doof king" imagery suggested the seller was aware of the product's dual use, although the page never said explicitly bulbs were for inhaling.
"Hey, we are just trying to make it easier for people to bake cakes out here," it said in one post.
"The Night Owls etc are always sold out (laughing emoji)."
Acting Inspector Hunter could not comment directly on the business but said police had been working with CBD convenience store owners to help clamp down on what was becoming a major health issue among young people.
"It's been pure consultation, providing them with information brochures and booklets, and just ensuring they ask a few more questions to those who are asking for large quantities of these items - what the intended use is," he said.
"They have definitely tightened up but there are still sales.
"You can see the residue around the CBD. They use them and dump them."
The business itself appears to have been a short-lived enterprise. Its Instagram page blocked the Cairns Post after being asked to comment on the business plan.
The page was deleted entirely a few days later when the Cairns Post messaged it to alert it to an upcoming news article.
However, multiple nationwide distribution services still exist online offering next-day delivery. Many even provide the whipped cream dispensers.
Originally published as 'Doof king': Cairns nang dealer's high stakes delivery plan
