LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – In November 2024, a 29-year-old Lake County woman died behind a smoke shop. Her family said it was because of her addiction to nitrous oxide products.
Nitrous oxide is a colorless gas — often used for sedation — which is also known as “laughing gas.” However, it can also be used to get “high,” according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation. It is also used in dispensers to make whipped cream fluffy, according to a report by Yale University.
The woman who passed away was Margaret Caldwell, whose family has since hired the Orlando-based Morgan and Morgan law firm to prevent “future tragedies.”
The firm filed a lawsuit on Thursday against manufacturers of this product and smoke shops in Central Florida that allegedly sell it.
The lawsuit claims those manufacturers have marketed nitrous oxide products for recreational use rather than what it’s intended for, according to the complaint.
“When we look at the history of the sale of the nitrous oxide, it used to be simply plain packaging with small canisters that were obviously used for culinary purposes, and that has evolved today to include bright colors, packaging meant to attract youth,” Attorney Mike Morgan said in a press conference Friday.
The complaint also alleges the smoke shops in Central Florida that Caldwell went to knew she was buying nitrous oxide products “to get high.” It also alleges the shops did nothing to prevent her from buying those products.
“Nitrous oxide is not to be inhaled. In fact, packaging even indicates it shouldn’t be inhaled, but nevertheless, it’s being sold in a shop for profit,” Attorney John Allen Yanchunis said in a press conference.
Meanwhile, Florida law does not ban the sale of this product but limits how much of it can be sold at a time, according to the statue. The law reads that anyone who knowingly deals, purchases or distributes more than 16 grams of this product can be changed with a third-degree felony — which could lead to five years in jail.
“Most, if not all, of the purchases Margaret made were of products that contained more than 16 grams of nitrous oxide,” the lawsuit states.
On the other hand, in 2024 Louisiana became the first state in the U.S. to ban the sale of nitrous oxide products.
All in all, Caldwell’s family is looking to ban not just smoke shops in Central Florida but across the U.S. from selling this product, according to a news release. One of the attorneys read a statement from the family during the press conference expressing this.
“Our goal is to make these manufacturers and smoke shops answer for the people they have allegedly harmed, addicted and killed through their actions and to work with the court to take these products off the shelves so we can prevent future tragedies,” Morgan said
Attorneys representing the companies sued have not yet responded to the lawsuits in court. News 6 could not immediately reach the companies for comment.
News 6 sat down with Caldwell’s family Friday night, starting the interview by asking them about Meg, as she was known by family and friends.
“She was bright, she was beautiful, she was loving, she was funny,” said her mom, Joy Caldwell. “She was so many things.”
Joy, her husband Paul, and their daughter Kathleen Dial, shared with News 6 how Meg’s addiction consumed her life over the last several years.
“It caused her incontinence for years,” Dial said. “It caused her last Fall to lose the ability to walk. She was paralyzed, but she never believed that she would die from something you could purchase so easily in a smoke shop.”
Paul recalled blunt words from a doctor after Meg suffered temporary paralysis.
“He said, ‘You keep doing this, you’re going to kill yourself,” Paul said. “She just listened politely, came home, and she said straight away that she didn’t believe anything having to do with her whippets.”
The family told News 6 they hope the lawsuit will succeed in removing these products from retail stores.
“The manufacturers making this, the retailers selling it are feeding this addiction,” Dial said. “And it’s a crisis that no one’s talking about. And they’ve been able to do it because everyone’s looking the other way.”
Morgan & Morgan has asked that anyone who has been adversely affected by these nitrous oxide products contact the firm.
If you or a loved one is struggling with a substance abuse problem, call the free helpline of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration at 1-800-662-4357 or visit FindTreatment.gov.
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