Pink powder drug called as pink cocaine does not contain any cocaine. Contents of pink powder submissions labeled as tusi or 2C-B in the US,… However, despite its name, the concoction rarely contains 2C series drugs. However, researchers say tusi may not be cocaine at all, but it will definitely be a combination of some of the most popular and dangerous street drugs.
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Because the drug usually contains a mix of uppers and downers, it is sometimes called a speedball. Authorities in New York City report that lab-tested samples have very little or no cocaine. Recreational use of tusi expanded enormously in tourist areas such as Valencia, Marbella or Ibiza.
What is Pink Cocaine (Tusi)? Hint: It’s Not Cocaine
Yet calling pink cocaine a “new drug” is perhaps disingenuous. “It’s a concoction that anyone can make if they have a couple of drugs and a pink dye,” Palamar said. Pink cocaine is pink thanks to food coloring or dye, said Joseph Palamar, who studies drug trends at NYU Langone Health in New York. Experts say it rarely contains cocaine and is more likely to contain ketamine, a drug with very different effects. A recreational drug called “pink cocaine” is getting attention and causing confusion since it doesn’t typically contain cocaine. A survey of 1,412 recreational drug users carried out earlier this year by Energy Control, a drug harm reduction NGO, found one in five people said they had used tusi in the last 12 months.
- “It’s just some pretty powder that their friends are using.
- Recreational use of tusi expanded enormously in tourist areas such as Valencia, Marbella or Ibiza.
- A lethal dose of fentanyl is two milligrams, the size equivalent to just a few grains of sand.
- Tusi is often mistaken for 2C-B, but in most cases, the substances couldn’t be more different.
- Researchers believe that the cocktail’s pink color and sweetness are likely an intentional branding strategy, much like the names it is given.
“This drug is connected to the neo-drug trafficker culture in Colombia,” Julian Quintero, a sociologist and researcher at Social Technical Action, a Colombian drug policy NGO, told VICE World News. Users often experience a mixture of ketamine’s sedative, trippy high with the more stimulant buzz of MDMA and caffeine. In Colombia’s major cities, the drug has become synonymous with a new generation of young narcos who are making and selling the drug for use in the country’s late-night club scenes and seedy tourist sex trade. We can help you or your loved one through the admissions process and begin recovering from addiction. Tusi emerged as a novel substance in 2022, with its rise potentially linked to the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tucibi has gained notoriety as a party drug, taking the place of ecstasy in nightclubs and raves.
The teenage gangster culture has been democratised.” He said tusi is the most popular drug of choice for foreigners who enter the sex trade in Medellin and Cartagena. This summer, a false scare story spread on social media alleged that a batch of tusi laced with fentanyl had been causing a spate of overdoses on the island.. Since then forensic tests have shown the drug has morphed into an unpredictable mix, most often containing varying proportions of ketamine and MDMA, bulked out with caffeine. If you or someone you care about is seeking support for substance abuse and addiction challenges, we are here to offer our assistance. With people confined to their homes during lockdowns, drug use became an increasingly attractive option. However, like many drugs of its kind, it poses exceptional dangers.
Without testing, it’s impossible to know exactly what’s in any given batch of pink cocaine (tusi). A friend in Mexico who has more experience with the drug—and asked to speak anonymously—says they prize tusi for being “simply fun”—similar to mixing cocaine and ketamine, but “not as wavy. I first encountered pink cocaine under the name “tusi” at a queer music festival in Mexico.
Law enforcement raises warning over so-called pink cocaine
Drug analyses that Palamar reviewed showed tusi didn’t typically contain 2C-B. Studies have found batches containing methamphetamine, MDMA, bath salts, caffeine and opioids. It was perhaps inevitable the drug would start to pop up in Spain, the European country with the closest links to Colombia’s drug world.
The Popularity of Pink Cocaine
2C-B is a novel psychedelic invented by biochemist and psychopharmacologist toosy drug Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin in 1974. Researchers believe that the cocktail’s pink color and sweetness are likely an intentional branding strategy, much like the names it is given. These studies rarely detect the presence of 2C-B. The effects are unpredictable because the cocktail’s composition varies greatly across regions and batches. Prized for perpetuating a “feel good” vibe, it’s increasingly popular at nightclubs, music festivals, and anywhere people like to party.
People seem to enjoy the effects, which users often compare to feeling a combination of ecstasy and LSD. “I first heard of people using this drug in New York City in the early 2000s. Tusi is often mistaken for 2C-B, but in most cases, the substances couldn’t be more different.
- Safety Note Fentanyl test strips and other components of a drug testing kit can reduce (though not eliminate) the chance of ingesting deadly compounds in any drug you take.
- Over time, users can build a tolerance, needing more of the drug to get the same high, which escalates the addiction risk.
- Unintentional exposure to its contents can lead to increased risk of adverse effects.
- “The tusi phenomenon also has the potential to complicate drug research. While toxicology studies tend to be more focused on testing which substances people have been exposed to, clinical, epidemiological, and social science studies that rely primarily on self-report can be affected. Most drug surveys do not query the use of actual 2C series drugs, so it is unlikely that such surveys will begin to ask specifically about tusi. Those who add questions about this concoction may assume tusi and 2C are the same product and collect unreliable data. It is also important to differentiate between what a product is called and what drug or drugs are present in the product. In this case, currently, ketamine appears to be the most common and most abundant drug present in tusi. While the two leading national drug surveys in the US do query ketamine use, ‘correct’ responses to questions about use would depend on the participant knowing they were exposed to ketamine in tusi. As such, use of drugs such as ketamine or MDMA that was present in tusi will likely be underreported. Similarly, the use of synthetic cathinones (‘bath salts’) is commonly underreported among people who use ecstasy because they are unaware that the ecstasy they used contained these compounds (26,27). Prevalence of ketamine use already appears to be increasing in the US (28), and increasing use of tusi will further drive increases, but estimated increases would likely depend on people knowing that they actually used ketamine.”
- The warning system first issued an alert on pink cocaine in February 2023, when researchers noticed a spike in chatter from Redditors.
Additionally, “last-month” use of 2C series drugs increased from 0.2 percent in 2017 to 2.1 percent in 2022 among nightclub attendees in New York City. “For most people, it is a short-lived and comfortable psychedelic with neither toxic side effects nor next-day hangover.” Still, the nickname is “deceptive,” says Palamar, given that the drug is far more likely to contain ketamine than cocaine. Similarly, “pink cocaine” might sound appealing to someone seeking real cocaine.
How Does The Drug Make Users Feel?
Known to buyers as “tusi” (pronounced ‘2C’) – and by the media and police as “pink cocaine” even though it contains no cocaine –the concoction is increasingly being taken by drug users and seized by police in Spain, and is surfacing elsewhere in Europe. Pink cocaine, also known as tusi or Tucibi is a street drug cocktail that is produced by mixing MDMA, ketamine, and speed and is also contaminated with substances like oxycodone and fentanyl. The concoction is also sometimes referred to as “pink cocaine” as it typically comes in the form of pink powder. “When people are seeking pink cocaine and they think they’re buying pink cocaine, they’re actually buying a drug that’s laced with fentanyl and they have no idea and they’re overdosing and dying,” Tarantino said. A spokesperson said its policies ban the buying or selling drugs, and most conversations on its message boards are warning other Reddit users about pink cocaine. A task force in California has already seized 4.4 pounds of pink powder that contained both ketamine and despropionyl fentanyl, a precursor to the deadly drug thought to be relatively inactive.
Why is Pink Cocaine Pink?
“The tusi phenomenon also has the potential to complicate drug research. While toxicology studies tend to be more focused on testing which substances people have been exposed to, clinical, epidemiological, and social science studies that rely primarily on self-report can be affected. Most drug surveys do not query the use of actual 2C series drugs, so it is unlikely that such surveys will begin to ask specifically about tusi. Those who add questions about this concoction may assume tusi and 2C are the same product and collect unreliable data. It is also important to differentiate between what a product is called and what drug or drugs are present in the product. In this case, currently, ketamine appears to be the most common and most abundant drug present in tusi. While the two leading national drug surveys in the US do query ketamine use, ‘correct’ responses to questions about use would depend on the participant knowing they were exposed to ketamine in tusi. As such, use of drugs such as ketamine or MDMA that was present in tusi will likely be underreported. Similarly, the use of synthetic cathinones (‘bath salts’) is commonly underreported among people who use ecstasy because they are unaware that the ecstasy they used contained these compounds (26,27). Prevalence of ketamine use already appears to be increasing in the US (28), and increasing use of tusi will further drive increases, but estimated increases would likely depend on people knowing that they actually used ketamine.” “Tusi is a relatively new drug concoction that is marketed using the phonetic translation of “2C.” This name, especially when mentioned verbally, has great potential to incorrectly refer to 2C. This was likely an intentional marketing tactic. Variations in spelling include “tuci,” ”tucci,” and “tussi,” and tusibí and tucibí (17,18)—which even further misrepresent the specific compound 2C-B. The mixture is also sometimes referred to as “pink cocaine” (“cocaina rosada” in Spanish) despite cocaine rarely being a component of the concoction. Tusi is almost always found in the form of pink powder, often accompanied with a sweet smell resulting from food coloring (18). Tusi reportedly now has a relatively low cost in some areas with some reports suggesting a gram can now cost as little as $10 USD (19), although costs might shift as popularity continues to increase. An analysis by CBS News found 99.5% of pink powder seized by the Drug Enforcement Agency is a mixture of ketamine and other drugs, which can include fentanyl, according to DEA data from nearly 1,000 seizures. “The increasing demand for 2C series drugs… created an opportunity for illicit manufacturers to create and market a cheaper copycat version of the drug,” Palamar wrote in his study, referring to pink cocaine or tusi. Powder sold as ‘pink tusi’ has been tested on-site @lostvillagefestPink tusi (AKA ‘pink cocaine’, or ‘pink’) is not 2C-B, but a combination of several drugs – and always dyed pink.Frequently contains ketamine, MDMA & caffeine – but every batch is different. As with most illicit drugs, users of pink cocaine navigate the tension between the enjoyable high they seek from the drug, and the very serious risks that it carries.
Unintentional exposure to its contents can lead to increased risk of adverse effects. In addition to anxiety and paranoia, use of this drug can cause psychotic episodes and flashbacks, in which the user relives the drug’s effects long after use. In its early days, it was an elite drug, much more expensive than cocaine. Though the name “tusi” is phonetically similar to “2C”, tusi is not the same psychoactive substance as 2C-B or more broadly, the 2C family. This further emphasizes the dangers of tusi, as it can also be administered against someone’s will, causing concern about it also becoming an attack on the unsuspecting. While there, the teen drank a Red Bull that was spiked with tusi, resulting in their death.
A Teen Died After His Drink Was Spiked With Tusi
The organization specializes in narcotics surveillance and collects data on drugs that could rise in popularity and lethality. “A lot of people just think it’s this new powder that’s going around,” Palamar said. DoubleBlind Magazine does not encourage or condone any illegal activities, including but not limited to the use of illegal substances. Always consult your local drug laws before engaging with any unregulated substance.
Europe
Cocaine is plant-based, whereas Pink Cocaine is a mixed-up cocktail drug that contains anything but cocaine, which makes this drug’s effects unpredictable and dangerous. Listen to our Pink Cocaine Podcast explaining what pink cocaine actually is and where it comes from. Instead, it is composed of a blend of ketamine, amphetamines, or MDMA, and at times mixed with opioids or hallucinogens like LSD and mescaline and opioids like fentanyl and oxycodone. The tusi phenomenon complicates the drug landscape because it has the potential to confuse both people who use it and researchers alike.