There Is A New Club Drug Sweeping Across Europe: Chocolate

Raw Cacao, the main ingredient in chocolate, is best known for its role in sweet treats, but party goes across Europe are now using the substance as a safe and legal alternative to hardcore drugs. In clubs across western Europe, such as Lucid, were the craze was first through to have begun, ‘clubbers’ are grounding 100% raw cacao bean into a powder and snorting it to achieve a sense of euphoria – a high. Some clubs claim it is not unusual to go through 5 pounds in one night!

As reported by  The Telegraph, the active components in cacao have clinically been found to boost serotonin and endorphin levels in our brains, leaving people with a pleasurable sensation. In addition to this, a 2009 study found that cacao also has a calming effect which can reduce stress levels and lower blood pressure. However, the same study also notes that these effects become diminished after just 3 minutes.

Additional research suggests that cocoa can even improve our mental capacity and memory. Habitual consumption of chocolate has also been linked to reduced risk of dementia, diabetes, heart disease, and even the common cold. Despite the unhealthy association many people have with chocolate, cocoa could help to control body fat levels and surprisingly, other research indicates that people who regularly consume chocolate tend to have lower body weights than those who eat it less. Raw cacoa is also available in pill form as a dietary supplement on many popular online stores, labels indicating it can help people reduce body weight.

It is said that to generate the equal amount of endorphin’s released from smoking marijuana, you would need to eat 25 pounds of chocolate in one sitting. Keep in mind, the average chocolate bar has maybe 40% cacoa content. So there is legitimacy to the claim that chocolate can boost your mood, although not by very much. A point to which Dr. Catherine Kwik-Uribe, the director of research and development for Mars Symbioscience – and wife of Buzz Killington – says “the mood-boosting effects of cacao are so subtle that the “high” experienced by many clubgoers is probably the placebo effect.”

It might sound strange for some, but compared to ecstasy, Molly, cocaine and other popular party drugs, I think everyone in society agrees that cacao is a safe alternative to the latter. The growth of chocolate as a popular party drug is said to be part of an international health/body-positive movement which urges clubbers to stay clear of drugs and alcohol while still enjoying themselves and letting loose.

Sources: Ozy, The Telegraph, Journal of Proteome, Medical Daily

You want to support Anonymous Independent & Investigative News? Please, follow us on Twitter: Follow @AnonymousNewsHQ

This article (There Is A New Club Drug Sweeping Across Europe: Chocolate) is a free and open source. You have permission to republish this article using a creative commons license with attribution to the author and AnonHQ. Join the conversations at www.anonboards.com