Matt Winiata: Manurewa Local Board Chair on the nitrous oxide canisters sparking concern among residents

An Auckland local board chair is concerned children are using large nitrous oxide canisters.

The gas is sold legally for whipped cream use, but can also be used illegally as a psychoactive substance. 

The canisters are 3.3 litres, about the same as 300 smaller canisters - known as nangs.

Manurewa Local Board Chair Matt Winiata says after seeing one, he's spotted them littered across streets in his local area. 

"On a 10-minute drive, I came across another 9 of them."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Now a bit of a worry about the latest development
with the nangs. You know what I'm talking about? Those
silver those small silver cream charges which have got the
drug nitrous oxide in them. They have now being sold
in huge bottles of three point three liters, which is
about three hundred of those little canisters. Chair of the Monye,
they were local board. Matt Winnie utters with us. Now,
hoy Matt hi Evan, how are you? I'm very well,

(00:20):
thank you? Who's selling them in these big bottles?

Speaker 2 (00:23):
That's what I'd like to know. I've got no idea.
We've been trying to look around, but that's the worry
at the moment. I know that they're available online, but
as they're getting in the hands of our youth in
some way, and that's what's what we're trying to find out.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
How do you know this is happening.

Speaker 2 (00:41):
Well, I've spent a lot of time out and about
in the community and I just just happened to be
outdoor knocking one day and found one and thought, okay,
well if I have to come back with the car
and grab that, and then it was it was a Saturday,
a couple of weekends ago, or Saturday week ago, between
on a ten minute drive and the only reason it
took ten minutes. It would have been quicker, but I

(01:03):
had to stop and pick these things up. I came
across another nine of them, and then Saturday just gone, yeah, yeah,
as you would expect. You know, people see these things
on the side of the road, like the smaller ags.
You know, that seemed to be quite common. The nangs
have grown up, they've graduated high school and they've they've
sent themselves out into the world and these larger things

(01:25):
which are an absolute travesty. So it was Saturday. I
was just having to be driving down Coxhead Road, which
wasn't too far from the local playground the Dale, and
I came across the larger one and I just I
I craped myself. Was like, what are the kids in
the community doing to themselves and the such a large

(01:45):
delivery device to replace the smaller aggs as as I
don't know, I don't know what to say, but needless
to say, I approached Dr Grant Hewison. He is the
legal advice for the d See District Licensing Committee, which
on the lead on at the money your local board,
and he said get it to a regulatory meeting, which

(02:08):
just happened to be yesterday, So there was some pace
that we needed to follow to get that across.

Speaker 1 (02:12):
Yeah, okay, I'm glad you're dealing with it. Hey, thanks
very much, Matt. I really appreciate it, Matt when he
asked the chair of the MONYERI, a local board.

Speaker 2 (02:18):
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