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| Hans-Günter Meyer-Thompson | International

USA. 'Pink Cocaine' Emerging as New Threat in Drug Market, Experts Warn

USA. 'Pink Cocaine' Emerging as New Threat in Drug Market, Experts Warn

Pink is the new white – at least in the international, dynamic domain of synthetic drugs.

A potent powder known among users and traffickers as "pink cocaine" is gaining traction in the United States, including in New York and California, where authorities seized more than 140 pounds of the high-powered hallucinogenic during a four-month patrol off the coasts Central and South America ending in early June, U.S. Coast Guard officials said.

The drug, also known as "tusi" on streets throughout Latin America and parts of Europe, varies greatly in composition – often differing down to the individual batch, law enforcement officials and substance abuse experts told Newsweek.

The illicit concoction, which sells for as little as $10 per gram, doesn't typically contain cocaine, despite its nickname. Instead, the powder tinted with food coloring widely comprises ketamine, along with smaller amounts of MDMA, methamphetamine or opioids. (Newsweek, USA, 13.07.2024)

https://www.newsweek.com/pink-cocaine-drugs-narcotics-tusi-dea-coastguard-1923902