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There’s a new legal drug hitting clubs & it’s definitely not what you’d expect

Yellow Bentines?

There’s a new legal drug hitting clubs & it’s definitely not what you’d expect
31 May 2016

Dodgy stalls at festivals cried in anguish at the new blanket ban on 'legal highs' that came into force last week in the UK, with the Psychoactive Substances Act promising jail terms of up to seven years for those involved in their production, distribution, sale and supply.

The government's new law bans any psychoactive substance that can alter our perception of the world except for alcohol, caffeine and nicotine. Presumably as they quite like those ones, so they're fine.

But it seems that a replacement drug is going to be needed if we're all to escape the drudgery of 9 to 5 life at the weekends - but the first contender is not exactly what you'd expect.

The new ravers' drug of choice is, apparently, chocolate, with cacao powder taken to give clubbers both energy and a 'hug-like' natural high.

Ozy describes how events such as Berlin's monthly dance party Lucid are providing cocoa at daytime raves where alcohol is not served. It's ingested as a drink (presumably a nice mug of hot chocolate?), a pill, or even snorted as a powder. The bitter Balinese raw cocoa floods the users with endorphins, while the magnesium present acts as a muscle relaxant.

Lucid’s manifesto states: "We do not serve alcohol, but this does not make us ‘anti’ anything. We have local artisans and culinary adventurers serving various high vibe medicines such as raw Cacao, super-food smoothies, herbal concoctions, vegan cuisine and much more."

Organiser Ruby May describes how the cacao can be fused with hints of honey, agave syrup and cinnamon, with effects lasting for up to six hours. She describes it as, "a smooth, sensual hug in a cup”.

The cacao will not distort your reality but will, apparently "amplify" the experience, with the mind-boosting effects described as "subtle". It's not a new discovery - Belgian chocolatier Dominique Persoone created a chocolate-sniffing device for a Rolling Stones party in 2007, bringing a whole new meaning to the phrase "nose candy". To date, he has sold 25,000 of them.

Right, who's up for getting a load of Wispas in this weekend and going absolutely mental? It's either that or Yellow Bentines, guys.