Author: Charles Frank
Tucibi Pink Cocaine: Facts, History, and Treatment
Before 2019, the NGO, which tests drugs sent in by the public, received only a handful of drug samples it identified as tusi, but in the last three years it has received 150. “This drug is connected to the neo-drug trafficker culture in Colombia,” Julian Quintero, a sociologist and researcher at Social Technical Action, a Colombian drug policy NGO, told VICE World News. According to a UN drugs report on the rise of the illegal ketamine trade published this week, this year tusi has been spotted at a music festival in the UK, and also in Austria and Switzerland. In July, a Colombian national arrested for smuggling cocaine into Italy was found with tusi at his Milan home. A statement by a Colombian drug testing project, Échele Cabeza, warned that until this point tusi mostly contained ketamine, MDMA and amphetamine. By around 2017 though, a list of increasingly dangerous new psychoactive substances (NPS) began to appear in tusi recipes.
Cocaine is plant-based, whereas Pink Cocaine, Pink Drug, or 2C-B is a synthetic phenylethylamine. Tucibi, or Pink Coke, induces its psychoactive effects by interacting with the body’s serotonin system. The following year, authorities in the city of Pereira arrested a leading member of the Machos crime group, a partner of the Urabeños.
Over the past decade, Pink Cocaine, also known by the names Pink Drug, Tuci, or Tucibi, has experienced a resurgence, especially in South and Central American club environments. “Tuci” or “Tusibi” derives from the hallucinogenic substance 2C-B, discovered back in the 70s. Despite the roots of the name, the modern pink substance rarely contains 2C-B. Each manufacturer or street dealer can craft their own blend with varying proportions of ketamine and amphetamines.
Signs of an Addiction to Tuci
It wasn’t until 1995 that the US Drug Enforcement Agency reclassified the drug as a Schedule I controlled substance in the country. The agency determined that the drug has no acceptable medical use and has a high potential for drug abuse. Pink cocaine has a high potential for abuse because it’s a drug that makes people comfortable and social. A person can use a few different methods to get high on it depending on its form.
- Each manufacturer or street dealer can craft their own blend with varying proportions of ketamine and amphetamines.
- Further, its use creates a situation where the user is vulnerable to being given more dangerous drugs like Fentanyl.
- Despite the roots of the name, the modern pink substance rarely contains 2C-B.
- Tucibi, or Pink Coke, induces its psychoactive effects by interacting with the body’s serotonin system.
- This means that real cocaine and its diverse variations come from plant-based sources while pink cocaine does not.
The original psychedelic form Tucibi is based on hearkens back to 1974 and was first synthesized by Alexander Shulgin. While the original is both an hallucinogen and stimulant, the modern variant could be either something else, or a conglomeration of whatever a drug dealer happens to have on hand. The drug has been floating around illegal drug markets for years now, with alerts being released by the European Union and the United Nations in 2022.
Intended Use of Tuci
In June, tusi consumption was reportedly booming in the nightclubs of Barquisimeto, a city in western Venezuela, while tusi refining laboratories were discovered in Peru and Panama. Uruguay’s government and Costa Rica’s press railed against the drug’s spread just as police in Paraguay made one of their first ever domestic interdictions. We can provide an optimal environment to promote healing and consistent recovery. We have a medical detox program to aid in painful withdrawal symptoms and provide attentive care. Safe and supportive homes for those in recovery from substance abuse, meeting strict standards set by the Florida Association of Recovery Residences.
In Panama, a police spokesman said tusi was ketamine cut with the pharmaceutical opioid tramadol. In Uruguay, the Interior Minister suggested it was a mixture of cocaine, methamphetamine, and LSD. On the one hand, many forms of cocaine or cocaine hydrochloride come in fine white powder form and are derived from the naturally-occurring coca plant. It’s important to be cautious with such terms, as they can reflect regional slang or specific methods used in the illicit drug trade, and their meanings can differ significantly.
Besides these, pink cocaine 2C-B also has psychological and psychedelic effects that can alter one’s mood, senses, perceptions, and emotions. This means that real cocaine and its diverse variations come from plant-based sources while pink cocaine does not. It also has a distinguishable pink color and can come in either a pill or a capsule.
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Phenylethylamine 2C-B was sold under the name Performax or Erox until the mid-1990s. However, in 1995 the United States Drug Enforcement Agency reclassified it as a Schedule I Controlled substance. The drug was then taken off the market because it is not an acceptable form of medical use.
The second group of inexperienced, naive drug users includes children, young adults, and anyone who develops an interest in drug experimentation. Because of the variable nature of the contents of Tucibi, it can be deadly the first time it is used. The first group, comprising individuals deep in the throes of drug abuse, is rapidly expanding. Factors such as inflation, job losses, and economic instability have driven more people toward substance abuse. The opioid crisis further exacerbates this issue by funneling individuals into the dangerous realm of opioid addiction.
The Popularity of Tucibi, What is Tusi?
Additionally, the composition and safety of such substances are highly unpredictable, contributing to their danger. Our medical detox program is here to help alleviate minor withdrawal side effects. This includes working to reduce drug cravings and a person’s likelihood of relapsing. Furthermore, a medical detox program keeps patients as comfortable as possible. The purpose behind the invention of 2C-B was to treat erectile dysfunction and enhance libido.
Is Pink Cocaine Different From Cocaine?
After detoxing from pink cocaine, the emotional and mental work of recovery can start. This means that the people who struggle with a substance use disorder can get help for an untreated or undiagnosed mental health condition. This type of drug and drug abuse behavior has been glamorized in television and movies, as drugs of abuse often are. Pink cocaine is often distributed in small doses due to its potency and potential for adverse reactions. Street names for the drug vary depending on the region and local vernacular.
Pink cocaine interacts with dopamine receptors as well but mainly inhibits serotonin receptors. Apart from this, they also differ in which part of the brain they affect. As a central nervous system stimulant, cocaine mostly affects one’s dopamine receptors to heighten the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction. As an in-network facility, we are able and committed to helping you find the life you deserve. The effects of this drug can range from mild to severe, depending on how much was consumed and what else it was made with.
But in March 2012, Máquina was arrested and, having lost his criminal protector, Alejo was kidnapped by the Urdinolas, a notorious Cali crime family. They allegedly forced him to reveal his formula and expelled him from the trade for good. He learnt his lesson the third time, moving to Bogota with the protection of a crime boss named alias “Máquina.” Tusi’s reputation had by now reached the Colombian capital and Alejo was soon dealing five to eight kilograms a week. Tailored towards high-income customers, it wholesaled for up to $43,000 per kilogram, about 33 times more than the equivalent $1300 brick of cocaine. According to a 2012 article by Revista Semana, Alejo started out refining and selling tusi in Medellin, but ran afoul of the city’s hegemonic crime group, the Oficina de Envigado.