An initial toxicology report revealed that former One Direction singer Liam Payne had multiple drugs in his system, including “pink cocaine,” when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires.
Here’s what to know about the drug cocktail.
What is pink cocaine?
Pink cocaine is typically a powdery mix of ketamine and illegal substances such as methamphetamine, MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy), opioids or new psychoactive substances, according to a study published last year in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The drug cocktail may also contain caffeine, according to the National Capital Poison Center (NCPC).
Despite its name, the recreational drug may not contain cocaine at all and gets its color from food coloring. And although it is also referred to as tusi, tusibi, tuci or tucibi, experts say it rarely contains the psychedelic drug 2C-B developed by California chemist Alexander "Sasha" Shulgin and his wife, Ann, in 1974, part of a 2C family of drugs related to methamphetamine.
The anesthetic ketamine appears to be the active ingredient most commonly found in "pink cocaine."
The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says a ketamine-led concoction of drugs is also appearing in liquid doses known as "happy water" and "k-powdered milk." Those and other "pink cocaine"-related drugs are popular in Latin America and Thailand, it said in a 2022 update paper on synthetic drug use.
The U.N. update paper warned, "High doses of ketamine used outside a medical context can cause cardiovascular and respiratory toxicity effects as well as other adverse effects such as bladder problems, anxiety, panic attacks, palpitations, tachycardia, chest pains, depression, aggravated symptoms of existing mental health issues, slurred speech and the inability to speak."
How does pink cocaine affect someone?
It can be hard to determine how the drug cocktail may affect someone after ingesting it. Bridget Brennan, the special narcotics prosecutor for New York, said this is because pink cocain
An exhaustive autopsy conducted by the Argentina National Prosecutor's Office revealed a grim picture, uncovering a staggering 25 injuries on the singer's body, each a telltale sign of a catastrophic fall from a great height. The official verdict, as chilling as it was conclusive, cited 'polytraumatism, accompanied by internal and external hemorrhage,' as the tragic cause of his demise.
Turning our attention to the perils of pink cocaine, the dangers it poses cannot be overstated. According to Brennan, this sinister substance, a cocktail of depressants and stimulants, is fraught with life-threatening consequences. "What makes pink cocaine exceptionally perilous," she cautions, "is its blend of opposing forces: stimulants like methamphetamine or cocaine, juxtaposed with sedatives like ketamine, which exert diametrically opposed effects on the body. Imagine your heart being pulled in two directions—one urging it to race, the other to sluggishness—a recipe for disaster."
The National Institute of Health's National Library of Medicine's comprehensive study on pink cocaine underscores its capacity to muddy the already murky waters of recreational drug use. "It has introduced a confounding element," the study's synopsis notes, "sowing confusion among both users and researchers alike. Users may mistake it for 2C/2C-B, blissfully unaware that this concoction often lurks with ketamine and a myriad of other, potentially hazardous drugs."
In a sobering interview with NBC News last August, Brennan sounded a dire warning: "In today's drug market, more treacherous than ever before, one can never assume that the product your dealer claims to sell is indeed what you've asked for." Her words rang with urgency as she addressed the prevalence of pink cocaine, a staple in nightclubs and party circuits, which had recently surfaced in a lawsuit against music mogul Sean "Diddy" Combs, further illuminating the dark underbelly of this illicit trade.
