Dance Powder

Dance Powder (ダンスパウダー, Dansu Paudā) is a green powder that is used to make artificial rain. It is called Boogie Powder in the 4Kids dub. It is a powder that brings both happiness and misery at same time, and is one of the centers of attention in the Arabasta arc.

History and Usage
Dance Powder was created long ago by a country that had no rain. When burnt, it would emit a mist like vapor that would rise up in the air. It speeds up the creation of ice particles in sub-freezing temperature clouds and causes rainfall. The original creators of this powder thus called it Dance Powder because it would make them dance with joy with all the rain that it would create.

Despite the rain it creates however, the powder unfortunately caused long periods of drought to countries. The process in which the artificial rain is created, nurtures clouds that aren't ready to rain yet. When this happens, all of the water contained within these clouds would all be used up. Because of this, other countries and locations, who would naturally benefit from rainfall when these clouds would naturally mature, are greatly deprived.

The controversy that this powder brought whenever it was used, started a war. The lives lost in this war was so great that the World Government outlawed the manufacturing and possession of Dance Powder world wide. It main raw material to make it is Silver (Croc state it at Chapter 172 page 16 panel 4)

The Arabasta Scandal
The Dance Powder is first seen and briefly explained to a perplexed Luffy after he stumbled upon a black market Dance Powder crop in a hut on the outskirts of town. The owner's description of its function falls on deaf ears, as Luffy doesn't understand at all, dubbing it under his usual moniker for things he can't grasp, "mystery" powder. Its true nature and grievous consequences are detailed when Vivi and the Straw Hat Pirates paid a visit to Erumalu, a town that was once green but has long since been swallowed up by sand due to the nationwide drought. Three years before the present story line, some delivery men, who happened to be the Baroque Works agents in disguise, brought a large shipment of Dance Power to Erumalu port. They staged an accident in which the cart would break and the bundles containing the Dance Powder would rip open and spill the powder. The agents then lied that the king had ordered for the powder to be delivered to Alubarna, the city where it rained the most. They then fled leaving all those who witnessed the staged accident to doubt the king.

Soon after, an abnormal weather pattern appeared in Arabasta where it only rained Alubarna. A large scandal then arose around Cobra as suspicions that he had been stealing all of the country's rain came about because of the incident in Erumalu. This scandal was further intensified when large amounts of Dance Powder were somehow brought to and discovered in Cobra's palace. Crocodile, the leader of Baroque Works, then further intensified the scandal by using the Full to process large quantities of Dance Powder to create a drought in Arabasta. As a result, the people of Arabasta blamed the king for the drought. As towns dried up and people starved, a rebellion was stirred up to overthrow Cobra for a crime he did not commit.

Trivia

 * In a response to a fan who asked if Dance Powder was based on the same concept of using jets to get rid of rainclouds so people in England can play tennis matches at Wimbledon, Oda revealed his basis for Dance Powder. The model for Dance Powder is the real life compound, silver iodide, a substance that when burned will send up smoke that will increase the size of clouds.