Woman shares story of nitrous oxide addiction months before her death
The easily accessible drug with colorful packaging fuels growing concerns about recreational use
(InvestigateTV) — Whip-its, Galaxy Gas and Super Whip are nicknames for an easily available drug with potentially deadly consequences.
Nitrous oxide, a gas often used legally in kitchens and dental offices, is growing in popularity for recreational use to get high.
The gas, also known as laughing gas, is readily available with little oversight and some warn that can fuel addiction.
Nashville woman’s fatal addiction
In Nashville, Tennessee, Kelly Rosenthal opened up about her addiction to nitrous oxide in an interview with investigative reporter Jeremy Finley.
“Even after you had brain surgery, you went back to using again,” Finley asked.
“Yeah,” Rosenthal said.
“Do you remember thinking this was nuts?”
“I was aware it was crazy, but I mean, I didn’t care. I was still so addicted to it and I couldn’t stop,” she said.
Four months after sitting down to tell her story of battling her addiction to nitrous oxide, Rosenthal died alone in her apartment, surrounded by canisters of the drug.
When Rosenthal’s brother called 911 on June 23, he feared the worst.
His sister’s phone was off and no one had heard from her in two days.
According to a police report, there was a large number of unused nitrous canisters around the victim and throughout the bedroom.
Katie Snow, Rosenthal’s best friend since childhood, said it was like losing a part of her.
“People will say, didn’t you see it coming? And the thing is, I never, ever saw this coming,” Snow said.
Easy access fuels concern
Rosenthal had described how easy it was to purchase the drug.
“You just can walk into any smoke shop if you’re over 21 and ask for it,” she said.
Her guidance allowed reporters to go undercover, showing how people could walk into vape shops and leave with colorful containers filled with nitrous oxide labeled to be used to make whipped cream.
“My whole apartment was just filled with trash of the little canister things,” Rosenthal said.
Snow said Rosenthal’s family and friends are urging lawmakers to stop the sale of the drug in Tennessee.
“When it’s so accessible, it’s almost impossible to overcome and I really firmly believe that if it wasn’t so accessible, she’d still be here,” Snow said.
As of October 2025, Rosenthal’s family was waiting on her autopsy results and the official cause of death.
Legislative action in other states
While the sale and purchase of nitrous oxide isn’t against the law in Tennessee, other states have cracked down on where it’s sold and how it’s marketed.
New York State Senator Joe Addabbo believes the packaging, often with bright colors and catchy names, is enticing to kids. He helped successfully ban the sale of nitrous oxide chargers to minors in New York.
“I got to tell you, since we passed the legislation in New York here, I don’t see those used canisters on the corner anymore, which means the retailers got wind of what we were doing legislatively,” Addabbo said.
In 2024, Louisiana became the first state to ban the sale of nitrous oxide in stores and increased the penalties and fines for violators. A year later, the state banned online sales and flavored additives for the gas.
Several other states have considered taking similar action.
See the full story from Jeremy Finley here.
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