Chocolate sundae? Good. Chocolate candy bar? Good. Chocolate dipped fruit? Good.
Snort-able chocolate powder? Maybe not so good.
This new powder is called Coco Loko,, though it is also referred to as “Cacao Snuff.” It is produced by Legal Lean and is now available in stores, despite the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s lack of approval. Its effects are said to be an endorphin and serotonin rush, also referred to as “euphoric energy” and a “calm focus.”
Now, to the problems.
“The question is, what are the risks of doing it?” said Dr. Andrew Lane, director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center. “There’s no data, and as far as I can tell, no one’s studied what happens if you inhale chocolate into your nose. When I mention it to people, nobody’s ever heard of it.”
What is known, though, are the general consequences of stimulants, such as increased blood pressure and heart palpitations—both of which Lane says can be intensified if said stimulant is inhaled. If that wasn’t worrisome enough, the exact physical dangers of inhaling a cacao-mixture haven’t been studied, and the hypotheses are just a tad bit frightening.