Pink cocaine is often confused for real cocaine. The anonymous user who spoke to CBS News said she has found fentanyl in her own supply. Those unknowns — about the substance and the high — pushed Frank Tarantino, special agent in charge of the Drug Enforcement Agency in New York, to issue an urgent warning to CBS News New York.
“Pink cocaine” is the latest street drug. This team of researchers has been warning the public about it for a year.
The term tusi itself does not have a specific meaning in standard Spanish; it is an everyday term used in the drug trade and among users. 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. Despite its name, the concoction rarely contains 2C series drugs.
Pink Cocaine vs. Cocaine: Side Effects and Health Risks Compared
Tusi contains both depressants and stimulants, shocking one’s system and causing a series of potentially deadly effects. “But it’s interesting how rarely we actually find it.” There is also evidence that tusi can contain bath salts, caffeine, LSD, or mescaline. Because of the nickname “Pink Cocaine,” some have simply believed the drug is a food-coloring version of the typically white drug. Pink cocaine may have surfaced in Colombia, but its ties to Europe can’t be ignored.
- Over the last few years, there have been increasing raids and arrests connected with pink cocaine.
- With repeated use, users can develop tolerance, leading to an increase in the dose consumed and an increased risk of severe adverse effects.
- However, despite its name, the concoction rarely contains 2C series drugs.
- It could just as easily be made by drug dealers in the United States, who mix their own, he said.
- Call 911 or ask someone to get medical help right away if you see signs of an overdose from pink cocaine (or other drugs).
Pink Cocaine Composition: What’s Really Inside? (Ketamine, MDMA, Fentanyl & More)
You may not be able to predict how you’ll feel when you take pink cocaine. But there’s not enough research to know if suppliers commonly put this powerful painkiller in pink cocaine. They make you feel like drugs that already exist, such as cannabis and cocaine. Pink cocaine hasn’t been around very long, so researchers don’t know much about the long-term effects it toosie meaning drug may have on people who use it.
What Does It Mean To Have a Substance Abuse Problem?
Pink cocaine is typically a mix of synthetic drugs such as ketamine and MDMA. Call 911 or ask someone to get medical help right away if you see signs of an overdose from pink cocaine (or other drugs). While pink cocaine usually has multiple substances in it, certain tests may tell you a little more about your batch. Pink cocaine includes a mix of drugs that can affect you in different ways.
They can refer you to a mental health professional who can help address your substance use disorder. Pink cocaine often includes both stimulants and depressants. But despite the name, this drug isn’t just colorful cocaine. New batches hardly ever have 2C drugs in them. Pink cocaine is a new designer drug. 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.
They probably have no idea what it’s supposed to be,” he said. “It’s just some pretty powder that their friends are using. Drug analyses that Palamar reviewed showed tusi didn’t typically contain 2C-B. WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. It’s an illicit, recreational drug that can be addictive. All states have some version of Good Samaritan laws, which protects people who call for help during an overdose.
How Does The Drug Make Users Feel?
With repeated use, users can develop tolerance, leading to an increase in the dose consumed and an increased risk of severe adverse effects. ] are trying to educate potential users who may not know how different ketamine is from cocaine. They say there are record numbers of overdoses and there is no way to know exactly what is in pink cocaine. This context created an environment conducive to recreational drug use, in which tusi became an attractive option due to its appearance and perceived effects.
- Pink cocaine is a new designer drug.
- The curious drug users, including adolescents, young adults, and those intrigued by this new drug hitting the streets.
- WebMD does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
- Street drugs aren’t regulated by the government, so there’s no way to know exactly what’s in pink cocaine.
- Tusi was introduced to Colombia by upper-class young people from Medellín who brought it from Europe.
Pink Cocaine FAQs
“Contrary to the belief that “pink cocaine” is a drug of the elites, used by models and rich people, this product is being used by people from every level,” said Claudio Vidal, a director at Energy Control. 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. Those with limited experience in acquiring street drugs could create pink cocaine from readily available products. The risk of addiction to pink cocaine is high.
It’s believed the same gang is also a major player in trafficking tusi into the U.S. Meanwhile, Brennan detailed her first run-in with tusi when 51-year-old Carlos Asturias was arrested in January 2023. The February and March busts resulted in the arrests of five people who face federal charges.
“A lot of people just think it’s this new powder that’s going around,” Palamar said. Naloxone won’t affect people who don’t have opioids in their system, so it’s safe to use “just in case.” And if the mix contains fentanyl — a powerful opioid — even a small amount can lead to death. When ketamine or tranquilizers are present, the drug can slow your breathing and impair your coordination. The contents vary because it’s an illegal drug with no quality control.
“Ketamine is not a fun drug to most people,” Palamar said. Pure cocaine is a stimulant drug made from the coca plant. Pink cocaine is an illegal substance.
Some people report lasting mental health effects, like anxiety or depression, after using it. Despite the name, pink cocaine usually doesn’t contain cocaine at all. Before 2019, the NGO, which tests drugs sent in by the public, received only a handful of drug samples it identified as tusi, but in the last three years it has received 150. The drug has been identified sporadically in Spain since 2011, and one of the first major busts was in 2016, when nine people including some Colombians were arrested for operating a tusi lab just outside Madrid. A search of their homes in Spain revealed 8 kilos of what officers called “pink cocaine,” as well as regular cocaine and cash. 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.
What risks are associated with pink cocaine?
Users might feel an overwhelming urge to keep using tuci for its euphoric effects due to its MDMA content, spiked with speed, which puts the user on alert at the same time. The actual meaning is different in other regions, as are the specific methods used in the drug’s preparation or distribution. Each manufacturer or street dealer can craft their blend with varying proportions of ketamine and amphetamines. Over the past 5 years, tusi has experienced a resurgence, especially in South and Central American club environments.
Ketamine and MDMA are the most common ingredients, although cocaine, methamphetamine, oxycodone, caffeine, cathinones, and other designer drugs are found as well. “The person who thinks they’re getting cocaine and ends up getting a pretty strong dose of ketamine may be completely knocked out,” Brennan said. Aside from the “happy high” that tusi provides, the downsides include confusion, stomach sickness, hallucinations, changes in breathing, a drop in body temperature, feeling agitated, or even seizures. “Cocaine is a stimulant, and someone who is expecting to get cocaine may know how it affects their body or their tolerance,” said Brennan of the “speedball” concoction.
Pink cocaine is usually either ingested in pill form or snorted as a powder. Similar trends emerged with carfentanyl, a synthetic opioid 100 times more potent than its lethal sister-drug fentanyl. “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. The organization specializes in narcotics surveillance and collects data on drugs that could rise in popularity and lethality. “It’s a pretty pink powder, and everyone’s starting to use it, when it really started increasing was around mid-2023.”
Here are some answers to frequently asked questions about 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. 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. Like with other drugs of abuse, you may develop an addiction and tolerance (meaning you need more to have the same high). If you use pink cocaine a lot, the stimulant effect can damage your heart and blood vessels.
Despite its nickname Pink Cocaine, this drug does not contain any actual cocaine.Despite its nickname Tucibi, this drug does not contain any actual 2C-B. Unintentional exposure to its contents can lead to increased risk of adverse effects. It could just as easily be made by drug dealers in the United States, who mix their own, he said. “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.
