Is Cocoa the New Cocaine? Clubbers Are Getting High on Chocolate

If you are looking to score tonight without breaking the law or having to put dangerous cr*p like heroin, cocaine, meth, alcohol or tobacco in your body, look no further than chocolate.

We all knew chocolate is addictive but now hipster clubs from Germany to Los Angeles are lighting up a whole new nose candy - raw cocoa, the main ingredient in chocolate.

As bizarre as the trend may sound, cocoa snorting or snocolating, originated in Berlin and has now become a staple at raves across the Western world, in powder, pill and liquid form.

So what really goes on in your body when you get a chocolate high? It might be legal but is snorting chocolate completely safe?

A Hit Of Cocoa

First up, one does not snort chocolate like lines of cocaine. A Belgian entrepreneur by the name of Dominique Persoone has made a chocolate shooter, basically a miniature catapult with spring loaded spoons that fling cocoa powder up your nostrils.

And pfffff...

Revelers describe the buzz as that of cocaine, only it lasts about 15 to 20 minutes and is way more chocolate-y.

So what gives?

They say a woman has many moods and all need chocolate. Well, chocolate enhances the spirits, it’s so divine that a true chocolatarian believes the secret to the Universe lies in chocolate’s cellular structure.

The mood upliftment happens mostly because of the endorphins present in the chocolate. Endorphins trigger dopamine, which fuels your body’s pleasure system. Both endorphins and dopamine are natural neurotransmitters which produce feelings similar to those after an orgasm or a drug high.

Cocoa is also rich in antioxidants which increase the blood flow to the brain, inducing a sense of euphoria. However, cocoa also contains magnesium which would relax the muscles, all within 15 minutes or so.

Why Snort Cocoa Instead Of Over Dosing On Chocolate Desserts?

Reason 1:

For any drug to work it should be as pure as possible, not diluted with milk, sugar and other artificial flavours. That’s why raw, concentrated cocoa does the trick and inhaling a crushed bar of Mars will be wastage of precious chocolate and end up only blocking your airways.

Reason 2:

Your nose is far more sensitive than the tongue. The human tongue can detect only a few flavours like, sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami (savoury like cheese). On the other hand, your nose is blessed with more than a trillion scent detecting sensors. So sniffing chocolate stimulates your body in many more ways than eating it.

The US FDA Has Ignored It But Is It Safe?

Any form of chocolate is classified as a food by the US FDA.

One set of experts believe that the fine cocoa powder is so concentrated that it can wreck the lining of your nose, in worst cases the scarring might make you lose the ability to smell. But no one really knows for sure whether snocolating is safe or not, the practice is new and (obviously) not high on any scientists’s research agenda.

But as a rule of thumb, it’s a great idea to treat your nose as a one-way track - while it’s okay for all sorts of bodily fluids to ooze out of it, to send things the other way up which intensely hit your brain is not wise.

Thankfully the trend hasn’t caught up in India yet, but don’t be surprised if you spot your favourite celeb vaping cocoa at a posh, private party on a couch next to you.

Also Read: Science Says Cheese Addiction Is Real, It’s Basically Like Cocaine