A recreational drug called “pink cocaine” is gaining attention and causing confusion because it typically does not contain cocaine.
The pink powder – actually a grab bag of various drugs dyed pink – has turned up in drug seizures, prompting police warnings.
Pink cocaine is also called ‘tusi’, but both nicknames for the powder have more to do with marketing than reality. Experts say it rarely contains cocaine and is more likely to ketaminea drug with very different effects.
Pink cocaine is pink thanks to food coloring or dye, says Joseph Palamar, who studies drug trends at NYU Langone Health in New York.
“Sometimes there’s cocaine in the mix, but most of the time it’s more of a ketamine concoction,” Palamar said. Research has shown that batches contained methamphetamine, MDMA, bath salts, caffeine and opioids.
“It’s a concoction that anyone can make if they have a few drugs and a pink food coloring,” Palamar said.
The word “tusi” may have been coined to mimic 2C-B, a recreational drug used in the rave scene in the 1990s and known for its euphoric effects, according to an article Palamar published last year. Drug analyzes that Palamar reviewed showed that tusi generally did not contain 2C-B.
Today, young people may not know the history of the name tusi and may be confused by the name pink cocaine, he said.
“It’s just a nice powder that their friends use. They probably have no idea what it’s supposed to be,” he said.
The danger is related to not knowing what is inside. Users may experience unwanted effects or take a larger amount than past experience tells them they can handle. Ketamine is a powerful anesthetic approved for use during surgery, but in recent years it has been used recreationally and as a treatment for depression, anxiety and pain. It can cause hallucinations and affect breathing and the heart.
“Ketamine is not a fun drug for most people,” Palamar said. “It kind of puts you in your own little world and things often feel very strange when you use it, especially in large doses.”
Someone who is drunk at a party and thinks cocaine can counteract the effects of alcohol will be unpleasantly surprised by pink cocaine, which is actually mostly ketamine, he said.
“If you’ve been drinking, it will make you nauseous and the dissociative effects won’t be very pleasant,” he said.
In May, the U.S. Coast Guard reported seizing pink cocaine, along with other drugs, off the coasts of Mexico and Central and South America.
“That was the first time I heard of large quantities being imported into the US as tusi,” Palamar said. It might as well be made by drug dealers in the United States, mixing their own batches, he said.
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