Tusi (also written as tussi, tuci, or tucibi) is a

recreational drug Recreational drug use is the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness, either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime. When a psychoactive drug enters the user's body, it induces an Sub ...

that contains a

mixture In chemistry, a mixture is a material made up of two or more different chemical substances which can be separated by physical method. It is an impure substance made up of 2 or more elements or compounds mechanically mixed together in any proporti ...

of different psychoactive substances, most commonly found in a pink-dyed powder known as pink cocaine. It is believed to have originated in

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, specifically

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

around 2018.

Ketamine Ketamine is a cyclohexanone-derived general anesthetic and NMDA receptor antagonist with analgesic and hallucinogenic properties, used medically for anesthesia, depression, and pain management. Ketamine exists as its S- (esketamine) a ...

and

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly known as ecstasy (tablet form), and molly (crystal form), is an empathogen–entactogenic drug with stimulant and minor Psychedelic drug, psychedelic properties. In studies, it has been used ...

are the most common ingredients, although

cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...

methamphetamine Methamphetamine (contracted from ) is a potent central nervous system (CNS) stimulant that is mainly used as a recreational drug use, recreational or Performance-enhancing substance, performance-enhancing drug and less commonly as a secon ...

oxycodone Oxycodone, sold under the brand name Roxicodone and OxyContin (which is the extended-release form) among others, is a semi-synthetic opioid used medically for the treatment of moderate to severe pain. It is highly addictive and is a commonly ...

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

cathinones Substituted cathinones, or simply cathinones, which include some stimulants and Empathogen-entactogen, entactogens, are chemical derivative, derivatives of cathinone. They feature a substituted phenethylamine, phenethylamine core with an alkyl ...

, and other

designer drugs A designer drug is a structural or functional analog of a controlled substance that has been designed to mimic the pharmacological effects of the original drug, while avoiding classification as illegal and/or detection in standard drug tests. ...

are found as well. There are no standard proportions of the constituent drugs. The inclusion of pink

colorant A colourant/colour additive (British spelling) or colorant/color additive (American spelling) is a substance that is added or applied in order to change the colour of a material or surface. Colourants can be used for many purposes including printin ...

s is an element that seeks to attract consumers, especially young people, by offering a striking visual aspect that resembles something "attractive" or "festive." Though the name "tusi" is phonetically similar to "2C", tusi is not the same psychoactive substance as

2C-B 2C-B, also known as 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine or by the slang name Nexus, is a synthetic psychedelic drug of the 2C family, mainly used as a recreational drug. It was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin in 1974 for use in psychoth ...

or more broadly, the

2C family 2C (2C-''x'') is a general name for the family of psychedelic phenethylamines containing methoxy groups on the 2 and 5 positions of a benzene ring. Most of these compounds also carry lipophilic substituents at the 4 position, usually resulting ...

. Tusi, according to the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, contained no

in most instances as of 2022. It may have been named this way because the drug has effects crudely similar to the psychedelic 2C-B.

Society and culture

Latin America

Tusi was introduced to

by upper-class young people from

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

who brought it from

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

. In its early days, it was an elite drug, much more expensive than cocaine. To facilitate its consumption, it began to be mixed with pink food coloring, which gave it its name and characteristic aesthetic. Due to the limited availability of 2C-B, traffickers began adulterating it with caffeine, MDMA, and ketamine. This mixture became the standard formula, which rarely contained 2C-B from that point on. Production expanded to several Colombian cities. Beginning in 2015, tusi began to be exported to countries such as the United States, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile. Starting in 2017, tusi became democratized and its price dropped significantly, attracting middle- and lower-class consumers. 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. 2CBPowder

Europe

The popularity of tusi in Spain began during the nighttime parties that resumed after the restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain. This context created an environment conducive to recreational drug use, in which tusi became an attractive option due to its appearance and perceived effects. Recreational use of tusi expanded enormously in tourist areas such as

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the re ...

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

. In some areas, it acquired the name "chic drug".

United States

Authorities in New York City report that lab-tested samples have very little or no cocaine. They say there are record numbers of overdoses and there is no way to know exactly what is in pink cocaine. Because the drug usually contains a mix of uppers and downers, it is sometimes called a speedball. Authorities are trying to educate potential users who may not know how different ketamine is from cocaine. Cocaine is a stimulant and ketamine is a sedative-hallucinogenic

anesthetic An anesthetic (American English) or anaesthetic (British English; see spelling differences) is a drug used to induce anesthesia ⁠— ⁠in other words, to result in a temporary loss of sensation or awareness. They may be divided into t ...

. It does not mix well with alcohol.

Effects

Common Effects

The effects of tusi are varied and depend on the specific mix of substances in each dose. Similar to

ecstasy Ecstasy most often refers to: * Ecstasy (emotion), a trance or trance-like state in which a person transcends normal consciousness * Religious ecstasy, a state of consciousness, visions or absolute euphoria * Ecstasy (philosophy), to be or stand o ...

, tusi can cause an intense feeling of happiness and an increase in energy, making it popular at electronic music parties. In addition, it can induce sudden changes in mood, from

euphoria Euphoria ( ) is the experience (or affect) of pleasure or excitement and intense feelings of well-being and happiness. Certain natural rewards and social activities, such as aerobic exercise, laughter, listening to or making music and da ...

to anxiety and paranoia. Various sources claim that the duration of its effects vary from 30 minutes to a maximum of 8 hours.

Risks

With repeated use, users can develop tolerance, leading to an increase in the dose consumed and an increased risk of severe adverse effects. These can include seizures,

cardiac arrhythmias Arrhythmias, also known as cardiac arrhythmias, are irregularities in the heartbeat, including when it is too fast or too slow. Essentially, this is anything but normal sinus rhythm. A resting heart rate that is too fast – above 100 beats ...

, increased blood pressure, and risk of heart attack. In extreme cases, excessive use can result in sympathomimetic toxicological syndrome, which can be fatal. 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.

Pharmacology

Drugs detected within the 19 samples of ''pink powder tusi/2C-B'' submissions to Erowid's DrugsData between 2019 and 2022:

References

External links

* {{cite web , url=https://www.dea.gov/pink-cocaine , publisher = Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) , title = Pink Cocaine Illegal drug trade in Latin America Psychoactive drugs