South Queens, NY – Assemblywoman Stacey Pheffer Amato (D-South Queens) announced that her bill, A.754A/S.2819A, has passed both the State Assembly and the State Senate, and is awaiting the Governors signature. The bill will make it illegal for children under age 21 to purchase whipped cream cannisters (“whippets”), which can be used as drugs. This bill was sponsored by Senator Joseph Addabbo in the Senate.

“I am very happy that my Assembly and Senate colleagues have passed this bill. It is clear that we need to get whippets out of the hands of teenagers in our communities,” Pheffer Amato said. “In my community, empty whippets are all over our streets, and this will go a long way toward keeping our kids safe and our streets free of debris. This bill will greatly improve quality of life in my district, and I look forward to the Governor signing it into law.”

“My office has received countless complaints about discarded whippets canisters littering the streets, and we even conducted a cleanup of the Addabbo Bridge where we found several dozen of these canisters strewn about,” Addabbo said. “Bill S.2819A/A.754A hopes to keep these canisters out of the hands of children under the age of 21 who may be using them to get high on the nitrous oxide, while allowing for businesses with legitimate uses for them to still be able to purchase them. My thanks go to Assemblywoman Pheffer Amato for sponsoring this piece of legislation and helping it pass in the Assembly.”

This bill now awaits the signature of the Governor before it will become law.