The Gangnam Police Station said on September 1 that a woman was arrested for violating the Toxic Chemical Control Act by inhaling a ‘happy balloon’, a slang term for balloons filled with nitrous oxide, at her apartment in Nonhyun-dong, Gangnam-gu. (Image: Kobiz Media)
SEOUL, Sept. 3 (Korea Bizwire) — A woman in her twenties was indicted on charges of inhaling a ‘happy balloon’ under new legislation that classifies nitrous oxide as an illegal hallucinogen.
The Gangnam Police Station said on September 1 that a woman was arrested for violating the Toxic Chemical Control Act by inhaling a ‘happy balloon’, a slang term for balloons filled with nitrous oxide, at her apartment in Nonhyun-dong, Gangnam-gu.
A total of 170 concentrated capsules of nitrous oxide and an injector were found scattered in her apartment when police officers went inside to check a loud noise reported by her neighbors.
The woman has denied inhaling the substance, but the police will investigate where she obtained the nitrous oxide.
“Since nitrous oxide, a substance used to inflate happy balloons, was designated as a hallucinogen last month with the revision of the Toxic Chemicals Control Act, this was the first case of indictment under the new legislation,” said a law enforcement official.
M.H.Lee (mhlee@koreabizwire.com)
