Although it’s called “cocaine,” it has nothing to do with the drug: experts warn that traffickers are putting people’s lives at risk by mixing all kinds of narcotics with pink food coloring and selling them under the name tusi.
The music industry has received two hard blows last month: the arrest of Sean “Diddy” Combs —with the revelation of hundreds of complaints of sexual abuse and trafficking on the part of the music producer— and, on the other hand, the tragic death of Liam Payne the singer and former member of One Direction .
And although these are two completely different cases, have a common element: the presence of a drug called pink cocaine or tusi, coming from Latin America.
The narcotic reportedly played at Puff Daddy’s parties and was also found in Payne’s hotel room and in his toxicology report.
But, what is pink cocaine? What are its effects and how dangerous is it for health?
What is pink cocaine or tusi
“It’s a dark pink color, like cotton candy. It even smells good. This is how a recent article from Washington Post with pink cocaine, a powder that has invaded the streets and parties for its particular effects on the mind and body.
But “pink yes, cocaine no.”
Luis Sordo, researcher at the Department of Public Health of the Complutense University of Madrid explained that the analyzes showed that, Although it is called “cocaine”, it actually has nothing to do with this drug.
“They are essentially amphetamine derivatives mixed with pink dye” wrote the expert in The Conversation.
That’s to say, Pink cocaine or tusi are powders from a series of mixed substances, usually ketamine and ecstasy, but we can’t be sure, since each drug trafficker uses a different recipe – and that, to simply make it rosy They add coloring.
And this is the greatest danger of this drug: no one knows for sure what they are consuming and neither do the doses.
In addition, The color pink is usually an “attraction” for young people to want to try it. This is why it has become popular in recent years.
Strictly speaking, tusi should be the drug “2CB” (hence the name, if pronounced in English), which is a class of psychedelics that became popular at parties in Colombia in the 1970s.
But it remained in memory, because now Traffickers sell a mixture of stimulants and tranquilizers containing pink dye.
For Joseph J. Palmar, epidemiologist at New York University , Narcos are “capitalizing on the confusion and growing interest in psychedelic drugs.”
“I consider this to be a marketing plan for drug traffickers,” said the expert, who had already warned of the risks of this narcotic, in a study published in PubMed .
And the situation is worrying: according to Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) The Mexican Sinaloa cartel “flooded” the United States with fentanyl, but also has the capacity to import ketamine from China to make tusi.
And they also detected that Latin American pink cocaine is “expensive” – 1 gram is worth 100 dollars (about 95,000 Chilean pesos) – so Local traffickers are said to manufacture the drug with their own hands and with low-quality and cheaper substances.
What effects does the drug tusi or pink cocaine cause?
“The effects can be unpredictable, especially if consumed with alcohol” said epidemiologist Palmar.
A 30-year-old New Yorker with a passion for electronic music spoke with the job anonymously and said that the tusi “enhances the music and lights of the dance floor. The energy is good, it doesn’t last long and you don’t have a hangover the next day.
According to the United States National Poison Control Center , The effects of pink cocaine can be ‘diverse’ depending on the content of the mixture and the dose consumed.
Among them are:
- Euphoria.
- Feeling “open” or sociable.
- Hallucinations.
- Anxiety.
- Increased body temperature.
- Increased heart rate and blood pressure.
- Nausea.
- Vomiting.
“It is also important to know that “Pink cocaine may be contaminated with other drugs in addition to those mentioned, so unintended effects may occur depending on what the mixture contains.” warned the institution.
Furthermore, as explained in German clinic from Chile, like any drug, Its consumption can cause serious health risks. Among them, they mentioned:
- Major change in behavior.
- Behavioral disinhibition.
- Impulsiveness.
- The mood changes.
- Insomnia.
- Anxiety.
- Ideas outside of reality (psychotic thoughts) and hallucinations.
- In severe cases, seizures and sudden heart problems.
What Tusi has to do with Diddy and Liam Payne’s cases
The preliminary toxicology report on the death of Liam Payne revealed that The singer, when he fell from the balcony of his hotel in Buenos Aires, Argentina, had “several drugs in his system”.
In the list, They included pink cocaine.
On the other hand, in the context of a lawsuit filed against Sean “Diddy” Combs In March, it was established that The rapper organized the transportation of tusi across US borders.
At the time of his arrest on September 18 of this year, the music producer was accused of, among other crimes, providing ketamine to the women he sex trafficked.
Of course, in the reports of this trial, the tusi is not mentioned, but a federal prosecutor told a judge that “Bags of pink powder” were found in the rapper’s bedroom in New York during his arrest.
Source: Latercera
I’m Rose Brown , a journalist and writer with over 10 years of experience in the news industry. I specialize in covering tennis-related news for Athletistic, a leading sports media website. My writing is highly regarded for its quick turnaround and accuracy, as well as my ability to tell compelling stories about the sport.
