What is the drug known as Tusi?
A brief summary of what is known about the drug known as "Tusi", or "pink cocaine".
The world of illegal recreational drugs is an illustration of the extent to which the dynamics of making money at all costs can come before concern for people's well-being.
Many of these substances have given rise to a public health problem, linked to the normalization of drug use in leisure contexts. In this article we are going to focus on one of these drugs: Tusi, or Tusibi..
What is the drug "Tusi"?
Tusi is a psychostimulant sold illegally in many countries of the world, including Spain, and whose consumption generates important organic alterations that put the health of those who take it at risk.
It is a phenylethylamine-type drug, sold in the form of a sort of powder similar to cocaine, but pink in color instead of the white that characterizes the latter (although technically it can be made to have a milky color, flashy shades are added to make it sell better and to differentiate it from other psychoactive substances, making it have its niche market).
Behind this flashy presentation is actually a substance called 4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenylethylamine, or 2C-B (hence its more popularized names, "Tusibi" or "Tusi". It is a stimulant whose effects as a recreational drug are still little known, but which seems to be characterized by inducing visual and auditory hallucinations, as well as elevating the mood in a similar way to MDMA (also called Ecstasy).
In this sense it is not so similar to cocaine, whose effects are mainly related to the high activation of the nervous system, hypersensitivity and the tendency to experience euphoria and/or anger, and not so much to hallucinations.
Moreover, unlike the world's best-selling illegal stimulant drug, Tusi is not a substance that can be obtained from the leaves of a plant, but rather its origin is entirely synthetic. The use of Tusi is much less common than crack or cocaine, and often it is not even sold directly, but mixed with other drugs such as Ecstasy, even adulterating other drugs by adding 2C-B without informing the consumer.
Effects
As we have already mentioned, relatively little quantitative research has managed to provide detailed data on the effects of Tusi: case studies are more common, describing the behavior of specific subjects when taking the drug or when being treated by health workers after suffering complications.
But in general, it is estimated that the influence of this drug on the mind can be described as a mixture of the psychedelic effects of the drug on the mind. a mixture of the psychedelic effects of LSD and the mood swings of MDMA, without being as potent as the psychedelic effects of LSD.without being as potent as either of these two substances, being less "spatialized" in its psychological impact. But it is still a dangerous substance, since even in low doses it can produce severe adverse effects. These side effects can consist of:
- Dizziness
- Psychotic-type symptoms
- Arrhythmias
- Feeling of restlessness or paranoia
- Respiratory depression
- Seizures
- Coma
It should also not be forgotten that the dangerousness of drugs such as Tusi is not only based on their direct effects on the health of the user.. They also facilitate the possibility that the user puts himself in high-risk situations, or even harms other people because of his state of perceptual and emotional alteration.
On the other hand, the speed with which the effects of this drug emerge depends on how it has been consumed. Although it is often sold as a pink powder that is "snorted", it can also be presented in the form of tablets for oral consumption. Generally, the latter way of taking Tusi causes the substance to reach the Central Nervous System somewhat later, something that happens with all drugs in general.
Looking for addiction treatment?
If you are suffering from health problems due to drug use and dependence on recreational substances, contact us and start your detoxification and therapy process as soon as possible.
At CITA Clinics we are experts in the treatment of addictions, and we work both from the sessions offered in outpatient service and from our residential module for people who need a constant admission and supervision. You can find us in Barcelona and Dosrius (Mataró).
(Updated at Apr 12 / 2024)