To facilitate its consumption, it began to be mixed with pink food coloring, which gave it its name and characteristic aesthetic. 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. “A lot of the younger generation probably have no idea about that history and about even the 2C drug,” Palamar says.
What is the penalty for cocaine in Florida?
“We’ve looked at other drugs, and what we found … is that a lot of times the chatter increases before a lot of poisonings occur,” said Palamar. “It’s a pretty pink powder, and everyone’s starting to use it, when it really started increasing was around mid-2023.” “A lot of people just think it’s this new powder that’s going around,” Palamar said. It could just as easily be made by drug dealers in the United States, who mix their own, he said.
Pink Cocaine Harm Reduction
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. In addition to the ketamine, “pink cocaine” may also include MDMA, caffeine, fentanyl, meth, or other substances—dealer’s choice. The effects of pink cocaine can vary significantly, as it often contains a mixture of dangerous substances, according to the U.S. Common substances found in pink cocaine include ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and xylazine. Pink cocaine, also known as “tusi,” is a powdered drug mixture that is often dyed pink and may have a sweet scent. The concoction is also sometimes referred to as “pink cocaine” as it typically comes in the form of pink powder.
“The chatter increases before a lot of poisonings occur”
For drug use, Palamar equated it to a diary to alert people to the effects of drugs. Palamar explained there’s a whole community called “Psychonauts,” in which people use novel drugs or induce “altered states of consciousness” and post about their experiences. Many Americans have only recently learned of the drug known as “pink cocaine” from a deluge of celebrity horror stories. “It’s a concoction that anyone can make if they have a couple of drugs and a pink dye,” Palamar said. Experts say it rarely contains cocaine and is more likely to contain ketamine, a drug with very different effects.
Cocaine is a stimulant and ketamine is a sedative-hallucinogenic anesthetic. 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. Starting in 2017, tusi became democratized and its price dropped significantly, attracting middle- and lower-class consumers. Beginning in 2015, tusi began to be exported to countries such as the United States, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Due to the limited availability of 2C-B, traffickers began adulterating it with caffeine, MDMA, and ketamine.
More on Substance Abuse and Addiction
“White powder could be sugar, could be table salt, or it could be fentanyl, or it could be cocaine, or it could be whatever, right? Krotulski, too, pointed out the ephemeral nature of drug cocktails and trends, and the unknowability of what that powder actually is in the moment, due to the nature of recreational drugs. He developed it for use in psychotherapy, but recreational use of the drug (sometimes called Nexus) became a popular rave drug in the ‘90s, often as a substitute for Ecstasy.
Pink cocaine linked to Florida overdose deaths
The product, made by suppliers in local DIY kitchen labs, varies with each “cook”, and has been found to contain a variety of other drugs, such as benzos, meth and cathinones, although rumours it has been found to contain fentanyl are unproven. 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. Marketed by dealers on the back of its colour as a high more exclusive than cocaine, tusi is more of a brand than a specific substance. A bright pink drug from Colombia that is a mish-mash of MDMA and ketamine is gaining traction among drug users in Europe.
It’s something that’s easy for people to understand and physically see. “You could call anything Tusi, the same way you could call anything cocaine,” Palamar says. Make It Happen on a Boat,” sparking rumors that it was the drug. He told FOX 5 NY that it will continue to make headlines if it hits the hip-hop world like the drug molly did. Officials say the drug is low in price, but it’s even higher in risk since so much is unknown about the drug.
What are the side effects of pink cocaine? Your high may feel strongest within 1-3 hours, but the effects of pink cocaine may linger for 4-8 hours. We probably wouldn’t call that pink cocaine anymore. What would Krotulski call that, if not pink cocaine? But then, what if something is cocaine, but it’s also pink? While the majority of testing and analysis has shown that usually it’s ketamine and MDMA, it’s not always the case, because either one of those could be substituted out for something else, or you could actually have other drugs present.”
- Ongoing drug use may also change your brain.
- As Palamar noted in a 2023 research paper, this sly homophone was likely intentional and something of a marketing gimmick, piggybacking on a familiar name to convince buyers to try the new drug.
- Since pink cocaine isn’t a single drug, the effects depend on what’s actually in the powder.
- “It’s a concoction that anyone can make if they have a couple of drugs and a pink dye,” Palamar said.
- It’s something that’s easy for people to understand and physically see.
What risks are associated with pink cocaine?
Drugs found in pink cocaine are highly addictive, and you may not be able to stop using them on your own. Try a small amount of pink cocaine. The only way to avoid the risks of pink cocaine is to not use it. You may have withdrawal symptoms if you use pink cocaine a lot and then go without it, which can make it hard to stop using it. If you use pink cocaine a lot, the stimulant effect can damage your heart and blood vessels. You may not be able to predict how you’ll feel when you take pink cocaine.
- Tusi, the other street name for the substance, is often confused for the synthetic psychedelic 2C-B.
- Both researchers and people at risk for use need to be informed about this new concoction.
- Some people report lasting mental health effects, like anxiety or depression, after using it.
- Make It Happen on a Boat,” sparking rumors that it was the drug.
- In its early days, it was an elite drug, much more expensive than cocaine.
- “Say somebody mixes Kool-Aid with cocaine, and we test that in a lab,” he explains patiently.
“Say somebody mixes Kool-Aid with cocaine, and we test that in a lab,” he explains patiently. “If you look at a powder, it doesn’t matter if it’s white, pink, blue, purple, you really never know what’s in it,” he said. It’s kind of a sexy term, I think, much more than other names that drugs get at times.” Through tracking the samples, the center’s work can help identify trending drugs and what to look out for in the landscape.
“If you’ve been drinking, it’s going to make you sick to your stomach and the dissociative effects are not going to be very pleasant,” he said. “Ketamine is not a fun drug to most people,” Palamar said. Drug analyses that Palamar reviewed showed tusi didn’t typically contain 2C-B.
What is ‘tusi’, ‘pink cocaine’? The colorful new designer drug that’s taking over
Your side effects may be mild to severe. This mix of “uppers” and “downers” is sometimes referred to as a “speedball.” There’s concern that some batches may have fentanyl in them. But they’re chemically a little different and may not show up on current drug tests. NPS are a new kind of synthetic drug. In fact, it may not have any cocaine at all.
Now tusi is the fifth most popular drug in Colombia and is a regular on the narcotic menu in countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile and Panama. 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. Last week, Spanish police announced they had busted seven members of a gang who are alleged to have been involved with distributing cocaine and tusi in Madrid and Malaga after smuggling it in drug-filled suitcases by air from Latin America. Users often experience a mixture of ketamine’s sedative, trippy high with the more stimulant buzz of MDMA and caffeine.
Contents
Pink cocaine is a combination of other drugs. The warning system first issued an alert on pink cocaine in February 2023, when researchers noticed a spike in chatter from Redditors. The organization specializes in narcotics surveillance and collects data on drugs that could rise in popularity and lethality. When Palamar first heard of pink cocaine, his team immediately scoured posts on Reddit as part of his research for the National Drug Early Warning System.
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 tootsie drug pink late-night club scenes and seedy tourist sex trade. Officials said it is most commonly used by young people in the club scene. It is pink in color due to the addition of food coloring, and sometimes strawberry or other flavoring, according to the National Capital Poison Center. Tusi, the other street name for the substance, is often confused for the synthetic psychedelic 2C-B. Pink cocaine is often confused for real cocaine.
Since pink cocaine isn’t a single drug, the effects depend on what’s actually in the powder. Most of the time, pink cocaine is a mix of different substances. In May, police found a drug lab in a town just outside Madrid where they said suppliers had been mixing up drugs to create pink cocaine. In August police found 13 kilos of what they called “pink cocaine”, likely the largest haul so far of tusi in Europe, on the island of Ibiza, along with regular cocaine and ketamine, €440,000 (around £380,000 or $460,000) in cash and a submachine gun. 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.
Leave a Reply