Michael Gove has announced laughing gas is to be banned to stop parks becoming "drug-taking arenas".
The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary said canisters of nitrous oxide are not only an example of people "spoiling public spaces" but can have psychological and neurological effects on those who take them.
He said: "We can't have a situation where our parks, public spaces become drug taking arenas... these laughing gas canisters are becoming a scourge."
He added: "I think anyone who has the opportunity to walk through our parks in our major cities will have seen these little silver canisters, which are examples of people not only spoiling public spaces but taking a drug which can have a psychological and neurological effect and one that contributes to antisocial behaviour overall."
Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper accused the Conservatives of empty rhetoric on antisocial behaviour while there are so few police on the beat to take action.
The Government is set to fall short of its flagship 2019 manifesto pledge to recruit 20,000 police officers by this Thursday, which is March 31.
Mr Gove, who has admitted he has taken cocaine "on several occasions" in the past, was challenged on his own drug use.
Asked if it was fair to give people a criminal record for taking laughing gas, the Tory MP said: “We need to deal with the scourge [of nitrous oxide]... It's absolutely right we uphold the law in this case.”
Pushed on whether the plans are hypocritical given some MPs have been known to take drugs, he said: "No… because I've learned." He went on: "I've learned it's a mistake, it's worse than a mistake to regard drug taking as somehow acceptable."
Ministers have decided to push forward with criminalising the sale and possession of nitrous oxide under the Misuse of Drugs Act despite a government-commissioned review recommending against it earlier this month.
The independent Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs told the Government punishment for the offences would be disproportionate with the level of harm associated with the drug.
Nitrous oxide has been linked to at least 56 deaths – and one hospital consultant says it is more dangerous than Class A drug cocaine.
While it is used legitimately as a medical anaesthetic and as a propellant in whipped cream dispensers, laughing gas was inhaled by more than 500,000 youngsters in 2019-20, according to official figures.
It is the second most popular drug used by 16- to 24-year-olds in the UK after cannabis.
Labour's Lucy Powell said her party also wants to see laughing gas banned.
She said: "I think we want to see it banned as well because it does cause huge amounts of littering."
It comes after Downing Street announced plans to force vandals to wear jumpsuits and wash police cars as ‘rapid’ punishment.
The Prime Minister said his plan, due to be announced on Monday, would "crack down" on anti-social behaviour "once and for all".
A key plank of the measures will be making justice "immediate" and ensuring that communities can visibly see efforts to clean up vandalism and graffiti.
Other punishments could include picking up litter, washing police cars or doing unpaid work in shops, according to Downing Street.
Shadow Justice Secretary Steve Reed last night accused the Government of "trying to copy our plan on tough community payback".
He said: "It is embarrassing that all the Conservatives can come up with is a pilot in 10 areas – covering only a quarter of police forces. They are out of ideas and out of time. What we need is tough action to punish criminals across the country.
"Labour is the party of law and order. A Labour government will make Britain's streets safe by putting 13,000 more neighbourhood police on our streets, strengthening community payback across the whole country, forcing fly-tippers to join clean-up squads and sending irresponsible parents to classes to learn how to control their unruly children.
"That's how we will prevent crime, punish criminals and protect communities."
A government spokeswoman said: “We are concerned about the rise in health and social harms of nitrous oxide and how widely available it is to the public, particularly to young people. Therefore, we are banning nitrous oxide.
“We are for the first time making possession of nitrous oxide an offence; preventing supply for misuse by putting tighter controls on retailers; and giving greater powers to law enforcement to take action against those who are in breach.”
Follow Mirror Politics on Snapchat, Tiktok, Twitter and Facebook.
