Nitrous oxide is on the parenting alert list. Police believe that kids are using canisters of the gas as a way to get high but the gas can be deadly.

When drag racers want to give their engines some added boost, they often turn to nitrous oxide.

Also known as laughing gas, dentists use it to relax patients.

The tiny canisters are also widely used by chefs to spray whipping cream.

But the gas is also the source of a quick and dangerous high and it's something many parents are not aware of.

Vern Griffin is a parent and he tells Channel 6 News, "I had never even heard of that."

Because sniffing nitrous oxide can be deadly, it caused serious concerns when the Dodge County Sheriff's department discovered more than 300 of the canisters around a Fremont park a couple of weeks ago.

Sheriff Dan Weddle says, "I don't think these people know exactly what they're doing. They may be getting high off this and having a good time but they could cause a lot of danger to themselves."

While Sheriff Weddle says abuse of the gas is not new, finding large amounts of it has him fearing the worst.

He wants parents and young people to recognize the problem and understand the dangers.

The bottles of nitrous oxide are available to the public and while many stores are careful screening buyers, people are still finding them for the wrong reasons.

While they're only a couple of inches long, just one has enough gas to be deadly.

Even if it doesn't kill you, long-term use of it can poison the nervous system and cause blood cell problems.