It’s another Friday night in Malibu, which, more often than not, means another party thrown by another kid whose parents are either out of town or out of touch.

By 9 p.m., a couple hundred high school students are milling about the host’s yard and home, drinking, smoking and socializing. There’s the usual cluster around the kegs that breaks up only when the beer is all tapped out. Another cluster has formed, however. This one is not on the patio, but inside the house, by the laundry room, where someone is filling party balloons from a tank that is resting on the dryer and handing them out to the waiting teen-agers.

A girl who has one of these balloons pinched between her fingers is standing in the hallway. She inhales from her balloon a few times before staggering away, one hand pressed to her forehead and the other outstretched to the side, struggling for balance while still clutching the balloon. She suddenly slumps to the floor, dazed and nearly passed out. Concerned friends who had seen her reel and fall rush to her side to see if she is all right. Someone takes the balloon away from her and disposes of it. The balloons are being filled with nitrous oxide.

Nitrous oxide (N2O), also known as laughing gas, has been used for recreational purposes since the late 18th century and is known for its use in dental surgery as an anaesthetic. It has only been in the last year, or so, however, that nitrous has hit the party scene in Malibu. While the drug has yet to reach the parties in Calabasas and Agoura, it is now very uncommon not to have a nitrous oxide tank at in the Malibu parties.

“Nitrous oxide elevates the threshold of pain,” says Malibu dentist Dr. Tom Hirsch, “which is why it’s used in surgery.”

That’s also why it is used as a recreational drug. In addition to physical numbness, nitrous inhalation also erases fear and anxiety, sending the user on a mental and emotional trip. The effects of inhaling nitrous are felt almost immediately, making it a favorite among those looking for a quick high. It wears off after about 90 seconds, though, compelling many to go back for a second balloon, and then a third and so on, until they are addicted to the gas. For those who can quit after one balloon, it would seem to be the ideal drug.

“It’s a great high,” said Amy, a senior at Malibu High School, who says she’s a frequent nitrous user. “And it wears off really fast, so you can still drive home [from a party] afterwards.”

Some longtime use, however, makes driving anywhere impossible. The people who inhale balloon after balloon of nitrous “stay stupid for, like, three days after,” said MHS sophomore Marc.

Nitrous isn’t just a party drug, either. More and more teens are using it at home before they go to school in the morning, when they are watching television in the afternoon, or listening to music before they go to bed.

“I do it all the time,” said MHS senior Jason. “I don’t believe it’s that dangerous.”

The teens seem unaware of the very real dangers. When not enough oxygen is taken in with the nitrous, hypoxia may occur, which can result in permanent brain damage. Hirsch explained that in dental surgery, 20 percent oxygen is “always mixed with the nitrous” administered to the patient. People using nitrous as a recreational drug do not necessarily realize that such a large amount of air is needed to avoid hypoxia. There are many other dangers, too.

“N2O users can become quadriplegic from the neck down and never regain feeling,” explained Hirsch. “Also, birth defects result from pregnant women inhaling nitrous oxide. This is not a safe drug.”

In addition to paralysis and birth defects, prolonged use of nitrous makes it difficult to conceive, kills brain cells, damages the bone marrow and nervous system, and there have been cases of both transient and permanent hearing loss. Horror stories include people going to the emergency room because of paresthesias (no sense of touch or pain), difficulty controlling arms and hands, trouble climbing stairs and walking, sexual dysfunction, and even loss of control over bladder and bowel movements. This does not include the short-term side effects, such as temporary loss of motor skills, nausea and vomiting, and hangovers. According to Hirsch, when people overdose on nitrous, they “stop breathing and die. They die of suffocation.”

Nitrous is obtained in many ways. The N2O used for medical purposes can be purchased from chemical supply houses and gas companies. The tanks run anywhere from $35 to $75. Nitrous is also used as a propellant for household products, such as whipped cream, because of its nonexistent odor or taste. Unshaken, nitrous can be inhaled straight from a can. For parties, though, people often claim to be caterers producing large quantities of whipped cream and are able to purchase tanks for $300, or, if already possessing a tank, can get it filled for only $40. In Malibu, this is cheap for a lot of the kids, some of whom are accustomed to buying drugs like Ecstasy, where one tab costs the same amount as a whole tank of nitrous oxide.

Nitrous is also used to speed engines for auto racing. The tanks and feeder units used to inject nitrous into the carburetors can be purchased at high performance racing shops, along with bulk nitrous gas. However, the nitrous used on engines is mixed with hydrogen sulfide, which causes anyone breathing it to become violently ill. Before using racing grade nitrous for inhalation purposes, the hydrogen sulfide must be filtered out, which can be done by boiling the gas through a strong basic solution, such as baking soda.

“It’s not worth it,” said Marc. “I’d rather smoke pot.”

Added to the physical harm nitrous can cause is the fact that recreational inhalation of the gas is illegal.

“Used under proper supervision in a dental office, it’s safe,” said Hirsch. “But used recreationally, you can cause yourself a lot of damage.”

Editor’s note: Names of teen-agers have been changed to protect those quoted in this article.

In a surprise announcement at Monday’s City Council meeting, Mayor Tom Hasse said the city’s proposed agreement with the Malibu Bay Company will be presented at the next council meeting May 23.

Hasse and Mayor Pro Tem House, who negotiated the deal for nearly a year, presented highlights of the agreement to the old council in February. It was the flashpoint of controversy throughout the City Council campaigns.

Hasse made the announcement of the 20-year deal with the city’s largest landowner when he was suggesting City Council subcommittee assignments. [See sidebar.]

Acknowledging how controversial his and House’s Ad Hoc Committee status was in negotiating with Malibu Bay Company and other Civic Center property owners, Hasse suggested that the council’s telecommunications subcommittee also be considered an Ad Hoc Committee “for the sole purpose of negotiating the city’s cable television franchise.” Those negotiations need to be discussed in closed session, Hasse said.

In other action in an unusually short and harmonious meeting, the council:

• Asked for a staff report on Malibu Colony Association President Paul Almond’s complaint about the two-tiered system of street numbers in the colony.

• Asked for a staff report on Laure Stern’s complaint of extensive construction on Westward Beach by Big Ship Productions.

• Asked for a staff report on hiring a Special Projects Coordinator.

• Asked for a staff report on amending the proposed resolution establishing the Harry Barovsky Memorial Youth Commission to establish more flexibility in the appointments. Instructed Parks & Recreation Director Paul Adams to contact schools to get more applications by the May 19 deadline.

• Asked for a staff report on cleaning up graffiti within hours rather than days.

• Continued public hearings on a parkland dedication ordinance, on a maximum allowable commercial development ordinance, and appeals of planning commission decisions on 26520 and 26524 Latigo Shore Drive by attorney Frank Angel.

• Approved a Master Plan of Drainage.

• Awarded a contract to San Diego State University for a visitor survey for the access study on Point Dume Headlands State Preserve. The university will charge $60,000 rather than the $84,000 proposed by the Godbe Research consulting firm.

• Agreed to continue the practice of appointing the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem to intergovernmental agencies, with the exception of the state insurance authority and League of California Cities, where the entire council is appointed.

• Appointed Barbara Barsocchini to the Los Angeles County West District mosquito board.

• Approved a Request for Proposal for Codification of the city’s Municipal Code: Estimated cost, $10,000 – $50,000.

• Approved granting the county jurisdiction on Cavalleri Road street lights.

“It’s such a change,” noted Hasse of the new council’s 4-0 votes.

New Planning Commission Chair Ed Lipnick’s opening remarks at the May 2 meeting, “Now that I know what I’m doing, hopefully, it won’t take all night,” were prophetic, as the last meeting of the old commission ended by 9 p.m.

Lipnick, appointed by Councilwoman Joan House in 1996, moved into the top slot when Ken Kearsley was elected to the City Council.

This was the last meeting of the old commission. At Monday’s City Council meeting, House re-appointed Lipnick to the commission and Kearsley appointed Richard Carrigan to the commission. Carrigan got a jump start on his learning curve by sitting in at the May 2 meeting.

New Councilman Jeff Jennings will make his appointment to the commission May 23. Commissioners Jo Ruggles, appointed by Carolyn Van Horn, and Andrew Stern, an appointee of Walt Keller, will leave the commission. Charleen Kabrin, appointed last term by Councilman Tom Hasse, will remain.

New commissioners will go through a briefing May 24 and will take seats June 5, said Interim Planning Director Henry Engen.

Engen noted the city hoped to have a new planning director by the end of May.

Commissioners also heard from Engen that at the May 15 meeting, consultants Crawford, Multari and Starr will give a briefing on the zoning ordinance update. The firm started taking input from the commission in January to finalize the ordinance.

27061 Sea Vista Drive

In its last meeting, the old commission voted 4-0 to have a consultant of a project at 27061 Sea Vista Drive come back with new plans, after a neighbor testified of his concerns.

Rey Cano, who lives “downstream” from the project at 27065 Sea Vista Drive, told commissioners he was concerned about drainage, fire safety, height and neighborhood character.

There were past drainage problems at his property, as told to him by the prior owners, said Cano. He would like several requirements on drainage before the project is approved.

Noting the street’s turnaround for fire trucks was too small and that the 1996 fire came to his retaining wall, Cano said he wants the fire department to have better access.

Cano described the new, two-story house as a “fairly in-your-face structure.” He said the 9,000 -square-foot project was twice as large as others in the neighborhood and was inconsistent with neighborhood character.

27454 Winding Way

The commission also unanimously moved to have new public hearings and reconsider a request for a height increase for a new, two-story house at 27454 Winding Way owned by Mr. and Mrs. Howard Zarett. The request had been denied April 17 after a number of neighbors complained about view obstruction.

32024 PCH

In their final action, commissioners voted 4-0 to approve an addition to a home at 32024 Pacific Coast Highway owned by Richard Marin.

“28 Days,” a movie that recently completed its run in Malibu, is billed as a comedy. Despite many amusing elements, this tale of an alcoholic writer and party girl named Gwen Cummings (played by Sandra Bullock) sentenced to an abuse-rehabilitation center for 28 days for driving under the influence, is frequently anything but funny. But, despite dismissal of the film by many critics, the issues it deals with — drug and alcohol dependency and recovery — are far too common in today’s society not to pay serious attention to it. Accordingly, we asked several local residents who deal daily with dependency in their own lives about the movie’s credibility. What we discovered was both depressing and heartening; few have any idea of the scope of the problem right here at home, and how accessible the resources are to battle it.

It’s Saturday night in Malibu and the biggest gathering in town isn’t at the local movie house or at a benefit. It’s probably in a local school auditorium, and it’s the regular meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Nearly 300 men and women, some accompanied by children (baby sitting is also available), have jammed the room for their weekly (for some, daily) session of tough talk about the dangers of dependency, and mutual support to fight it. And, although the largest, tonight’s meeting is only one of three held daily in Malibu, and 3,000 weekly in Los Angeles. “It’s America’s biggest underground society,” says one member.

“People come from all over,” says Teresa, a stunning blonde volunteer greeter, welcoming this reporter to the meeting. Although most are Malibuites, tonight there are visitors from London, San Diego and Houston. The crowd ranges in age from teens to the seventies, and in dress from cowboy grunge and be-bop hip (complete with lime-green dreadlocks) to gala glitz.

“You should see the outfits at the Beverly Hills meeting,” adds Teresa, herself clad in a shimmering outfit that nearly matched the color of the slice of watermelon I was munching, chosen from a bountiful buffet (like AA, I’ll refer to individuals only by their first names).

Everyone was excited by the program, reserving close-up seats with Ralph’s cards, drivers’ licenses, even Tampax tubes. Tonight the featured speaker is a woman who would later relate the harrowing story of the destruction of her life by alcohol and how she rebuilt it and remained sober for more than 26 years through AA. The other speaker told of his equally horrific drug-and alcohol-induced behavior that culminated, five sober years ago, in a confrontation with the police on the beach near Gladstone’s restaurant. These people know of what they speak.

Like the film critics, opinions were pretty divided over “28 Days.” “It’s a piece of shit,” was the reaction of Steve, who deplored the way the film “glamorized the recovery process,” an intensely painful experience for most recovering alcoholics. Another, an Aussie named Lori, felt she “just couldn’t get into it,” probably because of the scatterbrained storyline (among the inconsistencies, the same people Gwen meets when she arrives at the rehab center are the same ones saying goodbye. Since their 28 days were over, why aren’t they gone?).

The film’s occasional sitcom-silliness and retread psychobabble didn’t bother Susan, a lively, outgoing actress/poet. She saw it as a positive force for awareness-raising, whatever the flaws. “It was a bit over the top,” Susan says, “but I thought about 85 percent of it was accurate.” She knows first-hand. “I went through the 28-day program at Beverly Glen Hospital 16-1/2 years ago,” she says. “We did have group meetings daily, similar to those in the film, where we would talk about our feelings.”

And, like Gwen, Susan also entered her 28-day program with a hostile attitude. For Bullock’s character, it was caused by withdrawal from Vicodin; for Susan it was heroin. “I came to Beverly Glen straight from jail,” she says. “I had three felonies: the illegal use of a credit card, forgery and grand theft. While I was there, I had to take medicine to regulate my blood pressure (because of withdrawal), and baths at 4 a.m. because I couldn’t sleep. It was hell to go through, but my doctor didn’t give up on me, and my life took a 180-degree turn.

“I think the movie will do some good,” Susan adds. “Some people may see it and make the decision to get their own lives under control. There are many who are scared or embarrassed about coming to an AA meeting, and there is no reason to be. Everyone is there to help and support you.

“If only five lives in the universe are saved, it’s worth it.”

For information or help anytime, call the AA central office, 800.923.8722. They’ll tell you where the meetings are, as well as take you to and from them.