Pink cocaine

Pink cocaine
Tusi, also known as "pink cocaine," dyed with food coloring
Combination of
KetamineDissociative
MDMAEmpathogen
MethamphetamineStimulant
CocaineStimulant
EutyloneStimulant
OxycodoneOpioid
Clinical data
Other namespink cocaine,
tuci, tucci, tussi, tucibi
Routes of
administration
By mouth (oral), inhalation, insufflation
ATC code
  • None
Legal status
Legal status
  • In general: illegal
Pharmacokinetic data
Bioavailabilitydepends on combination
Metabolismdepends on combination
Metabolitesdepends on combination
Onset of action
  • • Oral: <30 minutes
  • • Intranasal: <1 minute
Elimination half-liferange 5–30 hours; irrespective of route
ExcretionPrimarily kidney

Pink cocaine, also called Tusi is a new drug that is a mix of many drugs.[1][2][3] It contains many different drugs and not always the same drugs. It usually contains Ketamine and MDMA. Sometimes it contains other drugs like cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, caffeine, cathinones and others.[2] It is dangerous because you cannot know what is in the drug.[1][2] This makes overdose very common, especially if Fentanyl is mixed with it.[4][5] A user cannot know how they will react to it each time they take it.[6]

It is not naturally pink. Dealers add pink food coloring to it to make it look unique.[7][8][9]

Liam Payne died after using it.[10]

It is called Tusi because it sometimes has a drug called 2C-B in it.[1][2][3] But most samples of pink cocaine have no 2C-B in them.[2]

What is in pink cocaine

Here is data on what was in pink cocaine between 2019 and 2022:[1]

94% Ketamine does not mean the drug is 94% Ketamine, it means that 94% of tested samples had Ketamine in them.

Drugs detected within the tusi samples (2019–2022)
Substance Drug class Percentage of samples
Ketamine Dissociative anaesthetic 94.7%
Ketamine precursor Dissociative anaesthetic (precursor) 84.2%
MDMA Empathogen/Entactogen, Stimulant 63.2%
Caffeine Stimulant 52.6%
Methamphetamine Stimulant 15.8%
Cocaine Stimulant 10.5%
MDA Empathogen/Entactogen, Stimulant 10.5%
Oxycodone Opioid 10.5%
Eutylone (bk-EBDB) Empathogen/Entactogen, Cathinone 10.5%
Levamisole Antihelminthic (often used as an adulterant) 10.5%
DMT Psychedelic 5.3%
Lidocaine Local anaesthetic (often used as an adulterant) 5.3%
Tramadol Opioid, analgesic 5.3%

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Palamar JJ (September 2023). "Tusi: a new ketamine concoction complicating the drug landscape". The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. 49 (5): 546–550. doi:10.1080/00952990.2023.2207716. PMC 10636235. PMID 37162319.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 "'Tuci', 'happy water', 'k-powdered milk' – is the illicit market for ketamine expanding?" (PDF). UN Global Smart Update. 27. United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (published 2022-12-09): 12. 2022. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "ALERT: Powder sold as pink tusi found on-site at Lost Village 2022". The Loop. 2022 [August 28]. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
  4. Barbaro, Lisa; Bouchard, Jacob L. (2024-12-12). "What Is Pink Cocaine? The Dark Reality behind a Colorful Name". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 67 (23): 20733–20736. doi:10.1021/acs.jmedchem.4c02821. ISSN 0022-2623.
  5. reporter, Jennifer Bisram Jennifer Bisram is an award-winning; aging, anchor who joined CBS News New York in 2022 She covers; caregiving; Crime, As Well as; Bisram, community stories Read Full Bio Jennifer (2024-10-16). "Feds warn about pink cocaine, also known as Tusi, in NYC. Here's what to know. - CBS New York". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved 2025-06-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  6. https://www.dea.gov/pink-cocaine
  7. "What is pink cocaine or 'tusi'? A highly dangerous cocktail for your health". National Geographic Spain (in Spanish). 2024-02-21. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  8. https://www.latimes.com/espanol/eeuu/articulo/2024-10-27/que-es-la-droga-recreativa-conocida-como-cocaina-rosa-o-tusi%7C
  9. Iporre, Nicole (2024-10-24). "What is pink cocaine or "tusi", the drug linked to the cases of Diddy and Liam Payne". La Tercera. Retrieved 2024-11-30.
  10. "What is 'pink cocaine'? Explaining the drug cocktail linked to Liam Payne's death". NBC News. 2024-10-23. Retrieved 2025-06-28.

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