Snorting chocolate will get you high...but is it safe? 

Many people enjoy chocolate as a nice treat. But now, you can snort cocoa to get a buzz of energy.

Coco Loko, a snortable chocolate powder, is a drug-free product that's marketed as providing a buzz that lasts about 30 minutes to an hour—without the side of effects of a sugar crash, according to The Washington Post. The substance is made of cacao powder, as well as gingko biloba, taurine and guarana, ingredients commonly found in energy drinks. It has a chocolate flavor and provides a rush of energy when snorted, although it can also be made into a drink.

Coco Loko aims to tap into demand for club-drug alternatives, as snorting raw cacao has become a growing trend in Western Europe. Users claim cacao has a mild euphoric effect, with active components that flood the brain with endorphins, while magnesium is said to have a muscle relaxant effect. Cutting the cacao with ingredients usually associated with energy drinks may increase its appeal to those looking for a legal stimulant while clubbing — although fears over damage or irritation to the nose may mean others prefer to consume chocolate and energy drink ingredients in more traditional formats.

Doctors aren't sure about the health consequences to snorting the substance due to a lack of studies, Dr. Andrew Lane, director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center, told the paper. The health community has, however, raised concerns about the ingredients used in energy drinks, such as caffeine, taurine, and guarana, all of which have been shown to cause heart palpitations and high blood pressure in some circumstances.

Senator Chuck Schumer is giving push back on this chocolate snorting craze. He’s is calling on the FDA to investigate calling it a “brazen example of ‘narcotic marketing’ – a product that is marketed like a drug, as well as made to be consumable like a drug while seeming cool to teens and young people.” 

“The thing to keep in mind is that there’s no research done on this at all,” Dr. Alex Osborn, an ear, nose and throat physician and medical director of The Voice Clinic, said to Global News. “We have no idea what it will do or how dangerous it is.”

The product’s ability to deliver a high is, well, high, especially since it’s ingested through the nose. However, the same effect can likely be achieved just by putting it on your tongue.

“Chocolate-covered espresso beans get you pretty jittery, and it seems that this would have the same effect,” says Dr. Alex Osborn, an ear, nose and throat physician and medical director of The Voice Clinic, said to Global News. “By snorting it, you’re taking some risk with no perceived benefit compared to just eating the product.”

You know, like club kids have been doing for decades.