Sant Antoni mayor Marcos Serra is again calling for changes to Spanish national legislation to make it easier for authorities to tackle the recreational sale and distribution of nitrous oxide, commonly known as laughing gas.

Serra says local police and the Guardia Civil continue to carry out coordinated operations in Sant Antoni, but argues that the existing national framework does not give authorities sufficient tools to deal with the wider problem.

His comments come after a series of recent interventions in the municipality and shortly after the Balearic Government introduced its own restrictions on recreational nitrous oxide.

Serra wants a national response

The mayor says Sant Antoni needs a stronger legal framework at national level.

According to Serra, local enforcement operations are necessary but remain limited when the substance can still be legally manufactured and sold for legitimate purposes.

He argues that a nationwide framework would make it easier to distinguish legitimate commercial uses from distribution intended for recreational inhalation and would give police greater scope to intervene.

These are Serra's stated views on the need for further legislation. They do not represent a change already approved by the Spanish Government.

The Balearics has already changed its rules

The legal situation changed significantly in the Balearic Islands this summer.

On August 7, the Govern approved Decree-Law 2/2026 on public-health protection. The measure entered into force on August 12 and amended the Balearic law on drug dependencies and other addictions.

The new rules prohibit the retail sale, dispensing and advertising of nitrous oxide when it is intended to be consumed by inhalation.

The regulation also prohibits supplying nitrous oxide to people under 18, with a limited professional-use exception for those over 16 who can demonstrate that use.

The regional measure is now convalidated

The Balearic measure is not merely a proposal.

The Parlament de les Illes Balears approved its convalidation on September 9, and the corresponding resolution was published in the BOIB on September 17.

This means the new regional restrictions remain in force.

At the same time, the legislation does not turn every form of nitrous oxide possession or every legitimate commercial use into an offence.

Medical, dental, food, catering and industrial uses remain legally recognised.

Sant Antoni already has its own municipal restrictions

Sant Antoni has also been regulating the substance through its municipal rules.

The municipality's coexistence ordinance prohibits the sale, promotion, advertising and facilitation of access to nitrous oxide in public streets and spaces, as well as its consumption there.

Street vending of the gas is also prohibited under the ordinance.

The local rules therefore operate alongside the newer Balearic legislation.

Why Serra says national legislation is still needed

Serra argues that the regional and municipal measures do not completely resolve the problem because legitimate commercial uses mean that nitrous oxide itself cannot simply be treated as an entirely prohibited substance.

The mayor wants a national framework that would apply throughout Spain.

He has also argued that other countries have adopted stricter measures that make recreational distribution easier to pursue.

His comments specifically point to the United Kingdom.

The UK has a different legal model

The United Kingdom classified nitrous oxide as a Class C controlled drug from November 8, 2023, while maintaining exemptions for legitimate uses.

Under the British rules, possession is an offence where the substance is intended to be wrongfully inhaled for its psychoactive effect. Legitimate medical, dental, industrial and other authorised uses remain permitted.

That is the model Serra points to when arguing that Spain could strengthen its own framework.

The British and Spanish systems are not identical, however, so the existence of the British restriction does not by itself demonstrate that the same approach would have the same effect in Spain.

A recent police operation in Sant Antoni

Serra's latest comments come days after a significant police intervention in the municipality.

On September 20, Sant Antoni Local Police reported the detention of a person after officers discovered an establishment containing 54 boxes of nitrous oxide.

The operation also resulted in the seizure of approximately 18 kilograms of different narcotic substances, according to police information.

The individual was detained as a suspected perpetrator of an offence against public health.

The nitrous oxide was allegedly prepared for distribution

Police reported finding balloons used to dispense the gas, a padlock and key and a box containing six bottles during the initial identification of the suspect.

Inside the premises, officers subsequently located the 54 boxes containing nitrous oxide cylinders.

Police said the material was allegedly intended for distribution and sale.

The person remains legally a suspect unless and until a court establishes responsibility.

The mayor has repeatedly raised the issue

This is not the first time Serra has called for changes to the legal framework.

During 2025 and again in preparations for the 2026 tourist season, the Sant Antoni government repeatedly argued that national legislation made it difficult to tackle recreational nitrous oxide sales as effectively as the municipality wanted.

The mayor has also repeatedly requested additional Guardia Civil personnel for the municipality.

His latest statement combines both demands: further national legislative action and greater state security resources.

Other local groups have also called for action

Serra's position comes amid a broader local discussion about nitrous oxide.

Earlier in September, representatives of the hotel, family, neighbourhood and hospitality sectors in Sant Antoni called for greater coordination between security forces and more effective action against recreational use of the substance.

Those groups also pointed to the new Balearic legislation while calling for further measures at national level.

The issue is therefore being raised by several sectors, although their proposals and priorities are not necessarily identical.

There is already a national parliamentary initiative

The debate is also present at national parliamentary level.

In July, the Spanish Parliament published a motion submitted by the Popular Party in the Senate calling on the Government to adopt measures to prevent and combat recreational nitrous oxide use.

The motion sought regulatory initiatives, stronger protection for minors, improved preventive measures and better tools for police and public administrations.

This was a parliamentary initiative rather than a national law.

Health concerns are part of the debate

The Balearic Government's legislation was justified partly on public-health grounds.

The explanatory material accompanying the decree identifies acute effects associated with inhalation, including dizziness, disinhibition, impaired coordination, fainting and hypoxia.

It also describes neurological risks associated with repeated or intensive use, including problems related to functional vitamin B12 deficiency.

The Government's rules are therefore framed around both public health and the regulation of recreational use.

The substance still has legitimate uses

Nitrous oxide is not solely a recreational product.

The Balearic legislation explicitly recognises legitimate uses in healthcare, dentistry, food preparation, catering and industry.

That distinction is central to the regulatory debate because the substance itself remains lawful in authorised applications.

The dispute is therefore primarily about how recreational distribution and misuse should be identified and controlled.

What Serra is asking for

The mayor's current demands can be separated into two parts.

First, he wants the Spanish Government to strengthen national legislation governing recreational nitrous oxide.

Second, he is again asking the Delegación del Gobierno for additional Guardia Civil personnel in Sant Antoni.

Serra argues that increased local police activity alone cannot resolve the problem without stronger state-level support.

Enforcement is continuing in Sant Antoni

Despite the mayor's criticism of the national framework, enforcement activity has continued.

Sant Antoni Local Police and the Guardia Civil have carried out repeated operations involving nitrous oxide, while the municipality has continued to apply its own public-space restrictions.

The latest September 20 seizure demonstrates that authorities are already using the available legal mechanisms in individual cases.

The question Serra is raising is whether those mechanisms are sufficient for the scale of the recreational market he says the municipality continues to encounter.

A debate that now extends beyond Ibiza

The issue is no longer limited to individual police operations in Sant Antoni.

The Balearic Government has introduced regional restrictions, the Parlament has convalidated them, local authorities continue to enforce municipal rules and there is now a national parliamentary initiative calling for further measures.

Serra's latest intervention adds another demand for the Spanish Government to strengthen the national framework.

What happens next

For now, no new national prohibition has been announced as a result of Serra's latest comments.

The Balearic restrictions remain in force, Sant Antoni's municipal rules continue to apply, and police operations against suspected recreational distribution are ongoing.

Any further nationwide legislation would require action at the state level.

For Sant Antoni, the mayor says the municipality will continue pressing for that change while maintaining local enforcement and requesting additional Guardia Civil resources.

The legal position in Ibiza today

The current situation is therefore more complicated than simply saying that laughing gas is legal or illegal.

In the Balearic Islands, retail sale, dispensing and advertising of nitrous oxide for inhalation are now prohibited, and supply to minors is restricted. Legitimate uses remain authorised.

Sant Antoni separately prohibits several activities involving the substance in public spaces.

Serra's argument is that a stronger national framework is still needed to address distribution across the country.

For now, that remains a political demand rather than a new change in Spanish national law.