What is ‘pink cocaine’? New party drug linked to Liam Payne’s death and cited in Diddy lawsuits is a dangerous mix of meth, ketamine and amphetamines that can cause hallucinations and psychosis
A synthetic drug cocktail known as pink cocaine has been linked to a string of deaths.
The drug, named for its seductive pink hue, ironically does not often contain cocaine but instead a potent mix of several drugs, such as the sedative ketamine, the stimulant MDMA and amphetamines such as meth, although a variety of prescriptions exist.
Medics say its effect on users is similar to that of ecstasy and puts those who use it at risk of extreme agitation, hallucinations, heart failure and psychosis.
Some have even associated it with a ‘bomb’ due to the intoxicating combination of ecstasy and amphetamines on the body.
Also known as ‘tuci’ or ‘tusi’ or ‘Pantera Rosa’, the drug is native to Colombia but has been found in the US, Spain and the UK.
It has now emerged that the drug, which sells on the street for around £77 per gram, may be involved in the death of One Direction singer Liam Payne.
A pink powder nicknamed ‘pink cocaine’ could be involved in Liam Payne’s death, sources say
Several of the ingredients of pink cocaine can cause serious health problems on their own, not least when combined. These include stroke, seizures and cardiac arrest.
Although there is no standard prescription for pink cocaine, the most common ingredients are MDMA/ecstasy, ketamine and amphetamines such as meth.
However, LSD, hallucinogens such as mescaline, and sometimes even powerful and addictive opioids such as fentanyl are sometimes found in some mixtures.
The fact that the prescription varies both in content and exact ratio makes the drug unpredictable and users may experience different effects even if they have had the drug in the past.
Payne, just 31, plunged 45 feet to his death from the third floor of the CasaSur hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, last Wednesday.
Now, Preliminary results of toxicology tests on the former One Direction star’s remains have revealed traces of cocaine, benzodiazepine, crack cocaine and “pink cocaine” in his system.
A report from news network ABC says: ‘A partial autopsy has revealed that the former One Direction singer, who died aged 31, had multiple substances in his system when he fell to his death from the third-floor balcony of his Buenos Aires hotel room on October 16 , Argentina. .
‘Those substances include ‘pink cocaine’ – a recreational drug that is typically a mix of several drugs, including methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA and others – as well as cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack.
‘A makeshift aluminum pipe for swallowing drugs was also found in his hotel room.’
Former One Direction singer Liam Payne died at the age of 31 after falling from a balcony in Argentina
Although details of the tragedy are still emerging, it could involve a toxic cocktail of drugs and booze, with Argentinian investigators claiming that substances taken from his hotel room indicate a ‘previous situation of alcohol and drug use’. Featured footage taken from Payne’s hotel room
Similar items, such as burnt aluminum foil, were also found in the hotel room’s bathtub
Both reports have yet to be confirmed.
The drug also played a role in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking investigation.
Diddy’s on-off girlfriend Yung Miami ‘transported pink cocaine for him,’ court documents allege.
Yung Miami, also known as Caresha Romeka Brownlee, was a member of the Diddy-backed group City Girls.
Pink cocaine was also involved in Sean “Diddy” Combs’ sex trafficking investigation. Diddy’s on-off girlfriend Yung Miami “transported pink cocaine for him,” court documents alleged
Also known as ‘tuci’ or ‘tusi’ or ‘Pantera Rosa’, the drug is native to Colombia but has been found in the US, Spain and the UK. Pictured are pink cocaine supplies being seized by Spanish police
Combs and Yung Miami were first rumored to be dating in 2021 and the pair confirmed they were dating in a June 2022 episode of “Caresha Please.”
The lawsuit alleges that Yung Miami brought the pink drug on a private jet from Miami to the Water Music Festival in Virginia in April 2023 because “Sean Combs wanted tuci, but Brendan forgot.”
“Plaintiff and the Combs Rico Enterprise were rehearsing ‘Something in the Westival.’ in Virginia,” the court filing reads.
“Plaintiff Jones personally witnessed Mr. Combs do a few lines of coke in his dressing room. Defendant Sean Combs wanted tuci, but Brendan forgot, so defendant Kristina Khorram Yung called Miami. Who then brought it from Miami on the private jet.’
According to the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s National Center for Biotechnology Information, “the majority of tusi samples contain ketamine, often combined with…MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, and/or novel psychoactive substances.”
Dr. Nelson of Santa Clara Valley Medical Center has previously said the combination of pink cocaine could be fatal.
He told it FOX KTVU: ‘When I read the mixtures in the ingredients of this drug, I expect agitation, hallucinations, psychosis, some kind of hyperstimulation.’
It is considered a luxury drug and a single gram sells for around $100 (£77), while regular cocaine usually costs around $60 (£46).
Pink cocaine has been linked to deaths before.
Camila Sterling, 24, was found dead in a luxury hotel suite in Miami Beach in March last year with the mix in her system.
There are also reports from Spain that teenagers have died as a result of pink cocaine.