Is Nitrous Oxide legal in Oman?

Also known as: laughing gas, whippets, nangs

Legal status

Controlled as a volatile substance. Nitrous oxide is named in Group III, serial 5, «OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS», of the annex to the Law on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances issued by Royal Decree 67/2026, as «nitrous oxide (dinitrogen monoxide, “laughing bas”)» [sic]. The Group number in this cell is taken from the locator column of the dossier; the serial is the last column of the quoted row.

Consequences if caught

Capital exposure: none for nitrous oxide. Article 37 does not reach Group III. Article 55 of the Law on Combating Narcotics and Psychotropic Substances issued by Royal Decree 67/2026 sets six months to two years' imprisonment and a fine for using a Group III volatile substance; the source read gives no fine figure. It does not state which article, if any, punishes possessing, selling or importing a Group III substance for any other purpose, so none is stated here. No quantity threshold is stated.

If prescribed or medical

Nitrous oxide is a scheduled substance under the 2026 annex. The source read for this cell does not cover the law's licensing provisions, and it sets out no traveller allowance and no route by which a foreign prescription makes holding nitrous oxide lawful, so none is stated. Personal use is punished under article 55.

Documentation

No document in the source read makes carrying nitrous oxide into Oman lawful. Nitrous oxide is a scheduled substance in Group III, serial 5, «OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS». Where the rule comes from. The law changed in September 2026. Royal Decree 67/2026 was issued on 3 September 2026. Its Article III repeals the Law on Combating Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances issued by Royal Decree 17/99, and its Article IV brings the decree, and with it the new law, into force on the day after its publication in the Official Gazette. Decree.om and the dossier this cell was authored from both record that publication as issue 1664 of 6 September 2026, so the law took effect on 7 September 2026. Article II keeps existing regulations and decisions running until replacements issue, «وإلى أن تصدر يستمر العمل باللوائح والقرارات القائمة، بما لا يتعارض مع أحكامه», so far as they do not conflict with its provisions. The decree's own articles were read in the text the Oman News Agency published on 3 September 2026. The attached law and its annex were read only through the verbatim quotations in the dossier dated 20 September 2026, because on 3 October 2026 qanoon.om served a Cloudflare challenge in place of the text, the web archive held no copy, and decree.om carried the decree's Articles I to IV and its Gazette reference but not the attached law, which it said would be uploaded shortly. Article 5 of the law, as that dossier quotes it, provides «يجوز بقرار من الوزير تعديل المجموعات الملحقة بهذا القانون بالحذف أو الإضافة أو تغيير النسب أو الكميات كلما اقتضت الضرورة ذلك», the Minister may by decision amend the annexed groups by deletion, by addition or by changing percentages or quantities whenever necessary. It takes the place of article 4 of the 1999 law, «يجوز بقرار من الوزير تعديل المجموعات الملحقة بهذا القانون بالحذف أو الإضافة أو تغيير النسب كلما اقتضت الظروف ذلك», which gave the same power without the word for quantities and with «الظروف», circumstances, where the 2026 text has «الضرورة», necessity. So a reading of the annex is a reading as of a date, and this one runs to 20 September 2026. Placement for Nitrous oxide: Group III, serial 5, «OXYGENATED COMPOUNDS». Under the 1999 law this page recorded: Group 3, named in the volatile list as nitrous oxide, dinitrogen monoxide, laughing gas. The 1999 placements in this cell are this page's earlier reading and are not printed in the quoted extract the dossier carries for this row.

Drug laws and enforcement change and vary within a country. This is not legal advice. Always confirm with Oman’s embassy or official drug authority before traveling; penalties can be severe, including imprisonment.