Someone made a snortable chocolate and everyone’s freaking out

July 10, 2017 5:56 PM

For the record, "Coco Loko" is not approved by the FDA.

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A new product called Coco Loko arrived on shelves just a month ago without FDA approval and is already causing concerns in the medical community.

Created by Orlando-based company Legal Lean, Coco Loko is a snortable chocolate powder marketed to give users a buzz. It consists of cacao powder and ingredients typically found in energy drinks, including gingko biloba, taurine, and guarana.

Nick Anderson, the 29-year-old founder of Legal Lean, first heard about the trend of snorting chocolate in Europe, according to the Washington Post.

Initially skeptical, he gave it a try and decided it was “the future.” He spent two months coming up with a formula alongside an Orlando-based supplement company. Now users can buy a 10-serving can for $24.99. The effects last for half an hour, which Anderson describes as “almost like an energy-drink feeling, like you’re euphoric but also motivated to get things done.”

But doctors aren’t so sure about the product that hasn’t been tested by the FDA. The director of the Johns Hopkins Sinus Center, Dr. Andrew Lane, M.D., has a few questions.

“First, it’s not clear how much of each ingredient would be absorbed into the nasal mucus membranes,” he told the Post. “And, well, putting solid material in your nose—you could imagine it getting stuck in there, or the chocolate mixing with your mucus to create a paste that could block your sinuses.”

There are also the typical concerns about energy drinks—including raised blood pressure and heart palpitations—the effects of which could be increased by snorting.

Still, Dr. Lane said, “Certainly this is better than using an illicit drug.”