What Is Pink Cocaine (Tusi)?

If you are following any pop culture stories in the news right now, you may be hearing about a substance called pink cocaine. But pink cocaine isn’t just cocaine or may not even contain any cocaine at all. Pink cocaine, or tusi as it is commonly called, is named for its pink color. The addition of the color comes from food dye and is used to distinguish the powder from similar looking drugs like methamphetamine or regular cocaine.

The name tusi came from the previous use of 2C-B in the formation of the powder.¹ 2C-B is a psychedelic drug, which has become increasingly difficult to source, so most formulations of pink cocaine do not include any 2C-B in them anymore.¹ Pink cocaine can be a different mix of drugs and is marketed as a party drug. This drug cocktail usually includes a number of illicit substances, including methamphetamine, ketamine, MDMA, cocaine, xylazine, and fentanyl.¹

Because of the broad range of drug classes that can be included in pink cocaine, there is a wide range of effects that can occur from the drug as well. Sometimes the combination can have psychedelic or stimulating effects, while others can cause a more relaxed feel. Additionally, the unknown combination can also be a toxic mixture since there is no way of knowing what is in a batch before consuming.

Pink cocaine has been around for a few years now, but it is gaining more popularity. It is frequently found in areas with night club scenes, but it is making its way to other areas as well. It is dangerous because depending on the batch, it may be a different combination of drugs each time. The combination of drugs can easily become lethal when fentanyl is included.

Since many of the drugs that have been detected in pink cocaine are common drugs of abuse, your lab is probably already routinely testing for them. However, if you are looking to add any of these substances to your current testing menu or a new drug begins to show up in the mixture, Pro EZLC contains all of the analytes (including xylazine!) for easy method development (https://ez.restek.com/proezlc/). An example of the commonly found drugs in pink cocaine can be found in Figure 1 below.

Figure 1. LC-MS/MS Generated by Pro EZLC Chromatogram Modeler for Commonly Found Analytes in Pink Cocaine.

Overall, it is important for law enforcement agencies to stay up to date with what drugs are in the area, so laboratory testing for pink cocaine may become more prevalent as it increases in popularity. 

References and Further Reading

1. United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA): Pink Cocaine. https://www.dea.gov/pink-cocaine