NO LAUGHS AS ALL TANKS ARE OFF

Police, L&I Crack Down On Nitrous Oxide Use At Vet

Sorry to burst your balloon, Eagles fans, but your favorite pre-game
chemical is gone with the wind.

Police and city licensing officials yesterday swarmed through Veterans
Stadium parking lots and confiscated at least a dozen tanks of
buzz-inducing nitrous oxide.

Then, just hours before the Eagles coincidentally sleep-walked past the
Chicago Bears, the mild anesthesia was released into the atmosphere.

The show of force was prompted by Daily News reports of rowdy,
gas-intoxicated fans outside the Vet, officials said.

"It's a start," said Gerald Richards, a Licenses and Inspections manager.

"You're going to see a difference down here," he vowed. "Today was a first
step."

Nitrous oxide, also known as laughing gas, is dispensed into balloons and
commonly sold during pre-game tailgate parties. A filled balloon about the
size of a basketball cost $5.

In a mad, dizzy scene of mind-altering dimensions, thousands of fans
prepare for Eagles games by sucking down mouthfuls of the numbing gas.
Before the cops arrived yesterday, the Daily News watched scores of
green-clad guys inhale from blue balloons, then clumsily stagger or fall to
the ground.

Though inhaling nitrous oxide for fun is perfectly legal in Philadelphia,
selling it isn't - at least not without a vendor's license.

That was the hammer city officials used yesterday to pound the ballooners.

Undercover police spotted tanks in the middle of one lot on 10th Street.
They were joined by uniformed officers and L&I agents who seized the heavy
canisters.

To the jeers of scores of disappointed stoners, the agents opened the
tanks' valves and sprayed the gas into the atmosphere.

"That's bulls---, and you know it," one angered fan shouted, a spent
balloon at his feet.

"Aw, c'mon, it was only a matter of time till they showed up," another
disappointed ballooner replied.

Other fans voiced dismay that TV news cameras had once again spotlighted
Eagles fans at their worst. They tried to drown out the hissing sound of
escaping gas with their own earnest cheer of "E-A-G-L-E-S!"

There were no reported arrests or fines.

"One guy told us he just found a tank and decided he'd try to make a few
bucks," scoffed Dominic Verdi, deputy L&I commissioner.

Losing a nitrous tank is costly for dealers, nonetheless. The gas, tank
rental fees and the lost deposit can total more than $200.

The licensing officials also threatened to confiscate vehicles used to
store the heavy gas cannisters.

"I told the guy with the Dodge Dakota, next time we'll confiscate his truck
along with his tanks," said Verdi. ". . .Of course, next time he'll show up
in a $200 truck."

Indeed, less than 15 minutes after the police made their first parking lot
sweep, the gas men were back in business. Fans boldly waved their balloons
at nonplussed cops.

The officials returned for a second sweep that netted a few more tanks.

But by then, the crowd's attention was focused on other attractions.

A top-heavy representative from an area "gentleman's club," circulated
through the crowd and handed out advertising cards.

"Show us your balloons!" someone in the crowd yelled.

With a smile and not much else, she complied.