SOUTHWEST DETROIT (WXYZ) — You may have seen whippets and not even know it. Whippets are small silver canisters that contain pressurized nitrous oxide. But those little canisters can cause big problems. They're used by teens and young adults looking for a quick high.
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They’ve been a growing problem in Michigan, Southwest Detroit, and Clark Park since the early days of the pandemic. Volunteers with the Whippet Wipeout Coalition used magnets to sweep the streets littered with used whippets.
"This was what we were picking up, these little cartridges by the thousands," said Sylvia Gucken with the coalition. "We ended up picking up 25,000 of these small cartridges (in the year 2020)."
7 News Detroit has documented the fight in the community in 2022, 2023, and in Lansing in 2024.
Community leaders like Gucken, a key organizer with the Whippet Wipeout Coalition, push for the state to restrict access to devices known as “crackers” used to open whippets.
Sylvia says the gas stations, corner markets, and other retailers selling the devices have changed gears, selling in bulk sizes to skirt the law.
And the larger size means larger dangers.
"I'm seeing cases almost on a weekly basis," said Dr. Brandtly Yakey.
Dr. Yakey is an Emergency Doctor at Henry Ford Health and a Medical Toxicologist with the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center. He says nitrous oxide-linked ER visits are up 757 percent statewide from 2019 to 2023. Calls to the Michigan Poison and Drug Information Center (MiPDC) involving recreational nitrous oxide use and its harms increased by 533 percent from 2019 to 2024.
In the ER, Dr Yakey says the most common neurological problems can be permanent.
"We see like very much debilitating where you have young people in their twenties, not able to walk across a room, and they're otherwise healthy," Dr. Yakey said.
Whippet use is also associated with an increase in anxiety, depression, and blood clots in the lungs, heart attacks and strokes, and burns. Dr. Yakey says part of the problem is easy access. He says we’re all no more than 15 minutes away from a whippet canister.
I caught up with Fourth Precinct Commander Shelley Holderbaum, who says that with the danger to users and the devastating effects on families, we may need tougher laws.
"The best scenario is that stores are not allowed to sell the way they are," Commander Holderbaum said.
Darryl Woods, the Chair of the Detroit Board of Police Commissioners, says retailers need to be held accountable for the harms caused by whippets.
"When you say whippets, I say poison," Woods said. "Why would you want to profit off someone's pain? This is not right, and you need to cease-and-desist right now."
The Whippet Wipeout Coalition, in partnership with police and business owners, has made great strides in doubling down on whippet use and cleaning up & taking back spaces like Clark Park, but know the fight isn’t over.
They say they’ll continue to raise the alarm about nitrous oxide use and push for tighter restrictions.
Watch our previous coverage
