Picture this: Thousands are gathered in traditional garb to enjoy giant pretzels, sausages, roasted chicken — and of course, beer.
Children are squealing, friends are singing along to the brass band — and a man is tapping some white powder onto the back of his hand. And snorting it!?
Don’t worry, it’s not what you think. It’s actually a perfectly legal tradition Germans have been doing for centuries.
The modern white powder is called Wiesn Koks — literally, Oktoberfest cocaine. It’s been around for over a hundred years.
Also known as Wiesn Pulver (Oktoberfest powder) and Bavarian cocaine, the white powder is literally just sugar and menthol. Huffing it will give you a minor sugar rush and an intense shot of menthol through your sinuses that’ll wake you up and refresh you. Some say it a bit more strongly.
“Weisn Pulver hurts,” one Oktoberfest reveler told VICE. “It stings much more than cocaine. It’s like snorting horseradish, or one of those overly intense ads for mint gum. But it clears out the sinuses and centers you.”
A rep from the original makers, Pöschl Tabak, told Vice that “in summer, it clears your head and in winter, it clears your nose.”
While the substance itself is harmless, snorting anything up your nose can damage the mucous lining, and eventually, the cartilage of the nose. Some people report pain and nosebleeds, especially if you do too much.
Plus, if it gets into the lungs, it could cause a coughing fit or difficulty breathing.
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Part of the reason people do Wiesn Koks is that it’s a tobacco-free alternative to snuff. Snuff, the finely ground tobacco that’s sniffed through the nose or held in the mouth, is a specialty in the Bavarian region since the 1700s.
People in the region have enjoyed snuff at festivals and parties for centuries— even partaking in snuff competitions. Bavarians even have a special regional snuff called Schmalzler, which is traditionally moistened with clarified butter.
That’s why snuff became inseparable from Oktoberfest, which started in 1810 to celebrate a royal wedding.
“There’s no other region in the world today where people take snuff so enthusiastically and extensively,” German newspaper Sùddeutsche Zietung wrote. “The people here consider inhaling powdered tobacco to be part of their tradition and the very core of their being.”
Though the tobacco-free white powder has existed for over a century, it only became a craze in recent decades.
Other than tradition, the appeal of the so-called white snuff is that it resembles cocaine, Sùddeutsche Zietung reports. It’s a gag that causes reports to police to jump during Oktoberfest.
Because it’s basically impossible to tell whether it’s white snuff or actual cocaine, tent owners and staff have been trying to crack down on sales and use of Wiesen Koks. Even the original manufacturer is distancing the product (Schneeberg) from its “Oktoberfest cocaine” nickname.
At the festival, you’re often seated at huge tables with strangers, and Wiesen Koks is a fun ice breaker. Plus, it functions like a palette cleanser for the beer and heavy food.
With all those perks, Sùddeutsche Zietung reports sales of the product jumps 400-500% over the two weeks.
