What is ‘pink cocaine,’ the recreational drug? (09/07/2025)

The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 49(5), 546–550. Understanding consent is an integral part of psychedelic harm reduction. Fentanyl test strips and other components of a drug testing kit can significantly reduce (though not eliminate) the chance of ingesting deadly compounds in any drug you take. “Many also said that they had entered a kind of k-hole without knowing it because the mixture usually has ketamine, and when consuming too much, it caused a bad trip.” I enjoy dancing on tusi.” There are downsides, however.

Huge Drug Busts Are Increasing

• “The effect on them is not going to be what they would’ve expected, and they may not be prepared in any way shape or form for that kind of reaction. It’s dangerous.” Further, prolonged tusi use can also result in depression, anxiety, personality shifts, and changes in sleep patterns.
• A bright pink drug from Colombia that is a mish-mash of MDMA and ketamine is gaining traction among drug users in Europe.
• Pink cocaine is a combination of other drugs.
• Users and harm reduction specialists say it usually feels like a light stimulant (comparable to weak cocaine or ecstasy) that can cause euphoria, “sexy” feelings, and psychedelic effects or visuals that sometimes tip over into “bad trip” territory.
• Tusi lavada denotes a particular type or variation of the drug known popularly as tusi, which is a slang term for pink cocaine.

One pink cocaine user, who takes the drug at least once a month, agreed to speak with CBS News without revealing her identity. For drug use, Palamar equated it to a diary to alert people to the effects of drugs. Many Americans have only recently learned of the drug known as “pink cocaine” from a deluge of celebrity horror stories.

Listen: Pink Cocaine – Uncovering the Truth (Podcast)

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. The product, made by suppliers in local DIY kitchen labs, varies with each “cook”, and has been found to contain a variety of other drugs, such as benzos, meth and cathinones, although rumours it has been found to contain fentanyl are unproven. Marketed by dealers on the back of its colour as a high more exclusive than cocaine, tusi is more of a brand than a specific substance. 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.

“Pink Cocaine”, Otherwise Known As Tusi

Due to the limited availability of 2C-B, traffickers began adulterating it with caffeine, MDMA, and ketamine. To facilitate its consumption, it began to be mixed with pink food coloring, which gave it its name and characteristic aesthetic. Tusi was introduced to Colombia by upper-class young people from Medellín who brought it from Europe.

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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. Tusi lavada denotes a particular type or variation of the drug known popularly as tusi, which is a slang term for pink cocaine.

Contents

The unregulated and often unknown composition of Tuci amplifies these risks, making each use potentially life-threatening. These can include seizures, cardiac arrhythmias, increased blood pressure, and risk of heart attack. Various sources claim that the duration of its effects vary from 30 minutes to a maximum of 8 hours. Similar to ecstasy, tusi can cause an intense feeling of happiness and an increase in energy, making it popular at electronic music parties. Cocaine is a stimulant and ketamine is a sedative-hallucinogenic anesthetic.

The popularity of tusi in Spain began during the nighttime parties that resumed after the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. By mid-2022, this drug had already become popular in several Latin American countries, including Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Panama, Mexico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay. Starting in 2017, tusi became democratized and its price dropped significantly, attracting middle- and lower-class consumers. Beginning in 2015, tusi began to be exported to countries such as the United States, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile.

• Further, mixing and matching intoxicating substances increases risk of contraindications and harm.
• Tusi, the other street name for the substance, is often confused for the synthetic psychedelic 2C-B.
• It’s believed the same gang is also a major player in trafficking tusi into the U.S.
• “Tusi is a relatively new drug concoction that is marketed using the phonetic translation of “2C.” This name, especially when mentioned verbally, has great potential to incorrectly refer to 2C. This was likely an intentional marketing tactic. Variations in spelling include “tuci,” ”tucci,” and “tussi,” and tusibí and tucibí (17,18)—which even further misrepresent the specific compound 2C-B. The mixture is also sometimes referred to as “pink cocaine” (“cocaina rosada” in Spanish) despite cocaine rarely being a component of the concoction. Tusi is almost always found in the form of pink powder, often accompanied with a sweet smell resulting from food coloring (18). Tusi reportedly now has a relatively low cost in some areas with some reports suggesting a gram can now cost as little as $10 USD (19), although costs might shift as popularity continues to increase.

While pink cocaine and traditional cocaine share the risk of addiction and chemical dependency, they differ substantially in their origins and effects. The bright pink substance’s look appeals to users, but because it is a relatively newer drug, its long-term effects have yet to be studied. According to Jones, Diddy hired a “mule” named Brendan Paul who “procured, transported and distributed ecstasy, cocaine, GHB, ketamine, marijuana, mushrooms, and tuci by packing these substances in their carry-on luggage and going through TSA.” Further, Jones named Yung Miami as someone who helped transport the drug to the Bad Boy mogul. “If someone drunk at a bar gets offered ‘pink cocaine’ to reverse the effects of alcohol, they may be in for an unpleasant surprise,” says Palamar, since “ketamine and alcohol don’t typically go very well together. No 2C series compounds were detected in this analysis.1 Pink cocaine or tusi also typically contains food coloring or flavored jelly powder, which impart its famous pink color and sweet taste.

Those “new psychoactive substances” mentioned, or NPS, have also puzzled authorities. Pink cocaine is usually either ingested in pill form or snorted as a powder. Tusi, the other street name for the substance, is often confused for the synthetic psychedelic 2C-B. She said she tests each batch for fentanyl but admits she doesn’t otherwise know the contents of the drug mixtures she’s buying. 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.

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A lethal dose of fentanyl is two milligrams, the size equivalent to just a few grains of sand. Safety Note Fentanyl test strips and other components of a drug testing kit can reduce (though not eliminate) the chance of ingesting deadly compounds in any drug you take. The popularity of 2C-B seems to have grown across the past two decades, with detection in US drug seizures increasing from 2006 to 2015 and seeing an uptick in 2019, according to research compiled in Palmar’s study. It can invoke psychedelic visuals and unique bodily sensations, inspiring feelings of euphoria or arousal. 2C-B induces brief psychedelic experiences, a contrast to classical psychedelics, which can sometimes produce trips that last six hours or more. Like the dozens of compounds in the 2C series, it is classified as a phenethylamine, distinguishing it from LSD and psilocybin, which are both tryptamines.

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. Users have noted that the illegal drug intensifies their senses, makes them feel elated, and quickens heart rates. Additionally, it’s reported that a tusi “high” stays anywhere from one to three hours but could last as long as eight.

Over the past decade, a seemingly new drug has swept Latin America and made inroads in Europe and the United States. It could just as easily be made by drug dealers in the United States, who mix their own, he said. “That was the first time that I heard of large batches being imported into the U.S. as tusi,” Palamar 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. Users could wind up with undesired effects or take a larger amount than past experience tells them they can handle. “It’s just some pretty powder that their friends are using.

Perhaps most pressingly, Palamar worries that the deadly substance fentanyl will eventually make its way into batches of tusi or pink cocaine. They say you should not mix tusi or pink cocaine with other substances, including alcohol, since it is nearly impossible to know what contraindications might arise. The drug cocktail’s pink color and sweet aroma or flavor are the result of it being dyed pink with food coloring or flavored jelly powder, both of which have been found in analyses of powders sold pink cocaine or tusi. Put simply, pink cocaine/tusi is a cocktail of multiple drugs, one known to differ widely from region to region, dealer to dealer, and even batch to batch. The pink powder, dyed with food colouring to make it stand out from other powders and usually smelling of strawberry, was called “tusi” because it contained the psychedelic drug 2CB.

Unintentional exposure to its contents can lead to increased risk of adverse effects. 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. In its early days, it was an elite drug, much more expensive than cocaine. Though the name “tusi” is phonetically similar to “2C”, tusi is not the same psychoactive substance as 2C-B or more broadly, the 2C family. This further emphasizes the dangers of tusi, as it can also be administered against someone’s will, causing concern about it also becoming an attack on the unsuspecting. While there, the teen drank a Red Bull that was spiked with tusi, resulting in their death.

Over the past 5 years, tusi has experienced a resurgence, especially in South and Central American club environments. The original 2C-B has a key component of 2C-B or 4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine, renowned for its sought-after psychoactive effects in recreational settings. 2C-B was initially developed by chemist Alexander Shulgin at Harvard University back in the 70s, and quickly gained popularity in the recreational drug scene. The original 2C-B drug shares the same name with Tucibi but is completely different. Drug cartels in Colombia gave the nickname Tusi or Tucibi to this dangerous drug cocktail just to make it easier to market.

It may, in some cases, feel like cocaine or a 2C psychedelic, but it’s safe to say that it is never identical to either. Nor is it 2C-B (or any other drug from the 2C family), despite commonly being referred to as “tusi” or “tucibi”—words that sound strikingly similar to the names of these compounds when spoken aloud. Although specific information on its composition remains limited, preliminary testing has found it to toosy drug be an ever-changing cocktail of stimulants, opioids, and psychoactive compounds that can exert a wide range of effects. “Ketamine is not a fun drug to most people,” Palamar said. Now tusi is the fifth most popular drug in Colombia and is a regular on the narcotic menu in countries such as Argentina, Venezuela, Uruguay, Chile and Panama.