What is tusi?
Tusi is a drug concoction, typically a pink powder. Despite the name, it rarely contains 2C series drugs [1]. Drug checking studies find mostly ketamine, often with MDMA and other drugs [1]. It is sometimes called “pink cocaine”, which is the same product under another name [1]. Batches tend to fluctuate greatly in which drugs, and how much of them, are mixed in [1].
Where the name comes from
“Tusi” is a phonetic translation of “2C,” a series of psychedelic phenethylamines. It is sometimes written “tusibi,” a phonetic translation of 2C-B, a common 2C series drug [1]. Other spellings include “tuci,” “tucci” and “tussi” [1], and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime uses “tuci” (“pink cocaine”) for ketamine related products [3]. The concoction is also called “pink cocaine” because it typically comes as a pink powder. As Palamar wrote in 2023, “despite its name, the concoction rarely contains 2C series drugs” [1].
What testing finds
United States. Through 2022 there were 19 submissions of pink powder concoctions labelled as tusi or 2C-B, analysed by DrugsData. Almost all of them (94.7%) contained ketamine as the main ingredient [1].
Spain. Energy Control, the leading drug checking organisation in Spain, found that almost all tusi samples submitted tested positive for ketamine plus MDMA, with or without additional drugs, and that 2C-B was rarely detected. Energy Control also reports that, on average, 34% of the volume of the samples it tested was ketamine and 11% was MDMA [1]. Of 470 samples sold as tusi that Energy Control tested between 2020 and 2024, ketamine was detected in 93.2%, MDMA in 92.1% and 2C-B in 3.6% [2].
Multiple drug checking studies have found that the majority of tusi samples contain ketamine, often combined with MDMA, methamphetamine, cocaine, opioids, or new psychoactive substances [1].
Is tusi the same as 2C-B?
No. 2C-B is one defined compound. Tusi is a mixture that borrows its name, and a sample sold as tusi usually contains little or no 2C-B [1, 2]. See What is 2C-B? for the compound itself, and Is pink cocaine 2C-B? for the short answer.
Is tusi the same as pink cocaine?
Yes. Pink cocaine is another name for the same concoction [1]. We keep a separate page under that name: What is pink cocaine?
Why the name matters
The tusi phenomenon has the potential to confuse both the people who use it and the researchers who study it. People using it may think the drug is 2C or 2C-B, and they may be unaware that the concoction tends to consist of ketamine and a wide variety of other drugs. Unintentional exposure to its contents can increase the risk of adverse effects [1].
Read next
- Pink cocaine: The same product under its other name
- Is it 2C-B?: The short answer: usually not
- What is 2C-B?: The actual molecule
- Ketamine: The most common main ingredient
- MDMA: The usual second ingredient
- Legal status by country: Tusi and pink cocaine
- Interaction checker: Why mixtures raise the risk
References
- Palamar JJ. Tusi: a new ketamine concoction complicating the drug landscape. Am J Drug Alcohol Abuse. 2023;49(5):546 to 550. doi: 10.1080/00952990.2023.2207716. Full text.
- Abukahok N, Fitzgerald ND, Palamar JJ. An Update on the Epidemiology of Tusi (pink cocaine). Current Addiction Reports. 2025;12:90. doi: 10.1007/s40429-025-00706-y. Energy Control data, 470 samples sold as tusi, 2020 to 2024. Full text.
- United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. “Tuci”, “happy water”, “k powdered milk”: is the illicit market for ketamine expanding? Global SMART Update, vol. 27, 2022. UNODC page.