Pink cocaine, a drug mix also known as tusi, has a misleading name: the powder is rarely cocaine, and often not 2C-B either. Instead, tusi is an ever-changing mix of legal and illegal substances, often including drugs like ketamine, MDMA, methamphetamine, opioids, and new psychoactive substances. Lab tests show its composition varies even from source to source, making pink cocaine a gamble whose effects are hard to predict.
What Tusi Is
"Pink cocaine" or "tusi" is a street name given to a pink-dyed powder mixture that produces mind-altering effects. Despite its name, it is rarely true cocaine. However, the dangers of the street drug are that the original 2C-B is seldom present, and lab tests show a shifting array of substances.
The pink tint comes from dyes, not from cocaine or 2C-B. A container labeled as tusi cannot be identified by name, color, or smell alone. The specific substances in each mix can only be determined through testing.
What Lab Testing Usually Finds
Although the name suggests cocaine, lab testing reveals that tusi samples typically contain other drugs. A PubMed-indexed review of multiple drug checking studies found that the majority of tusi samples contain ketamine, often combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, and new psychoactive substances. Only a small fraction of samples were confirmed to contain 2C-B.
The drug cocktail can include any combination of these substances, with dosage varying from batch to batch. This means that while one purchase of tusi might be mild, the next could be dangerously potent, or even contain substances that severely impact a person's health. Buyers cannot know exactly what they are getting with tusi, and preparations must be made for the worst-case scenario.
Why the Mix is Risky
The combination of drugs, batch variability, and lack of purity make the cocktail especially risky.
Every ingredient in a tusi blend adds to its unpredictability, with little to no quality control. Ketamine, also known as Special K, has been found in tusi samples, as has MDMA. Methamphetamine has also been documented in tusi. Cocaine, opioids, and new psychoactive substances are all possibilities, according to testing results unearthing the shifting contents of tusi.
The unpredictable quantities of each ingredient further compound the risk. One batch might contain a slight amount of each drug, while the next might be laced with a large quantity of something harmful. This means consuming tusi could lead to a mild high, a bad trip, or a trip to the hospital, and there's no way to know which.
What to Do if Someone Has a Bad Reaction
Do not wait for the person to recover on their own. Seek help immediately, even if it seems unnecessary, because too much of a drug or the wrong combination could be a matter of life and death. When it comes to an unknown substance, the risks outweigh the benefits of taking a "wait and see" approach.
The Bottom Line
The unpredictability of pink cocaine makes it a very high-risk product. With no consistent recipe and the potential for the presence of extremely dangerous drugs in high dosages, there is no way for an individual to safely consume tusi. In fact, the best advice is not to risk it at all, and if someone you know is considering experimenting with it, to stop them from taking this serious risk.
Tusi is not standard enough to predict its effects, and it is not safe enough to risk it. Realize that you can't know for sure what is in a pink powder by name, color, or smell alone. Treat an unknown reaction as a medical emergency and get to a hospital right away.
This guide is general health information, not medical or legal advice. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about your situation. In an emergency call 911.
