What is tusi and what are its effects?

The proliferation of drugs in our current society is terrifying. People consume according to their tastes, accessibility and availability. In recent years, a new product has gained fame: the tusi or tusibí.

This drug is sold in powder or pill form, which is usually pink in color. It is made up of different stimulant, depressant and psychedelic substances. Does his name sound familiar to you? You may have heard of it as “pink cocaine” or “the high society drug.”.

In this article we will tell you what the composition of tusi is and its effects. We will also give you a series of recommendations and reflect on how we can prevent its consumption in adolescents. Let’s dig deeper.

What is tusi?

Tusi, or tusibí, is a cocktail of different substances, a mixture that is harmful to the body.. Although certain common substances have been found in different preparations, the truth is that their components can vary from one combination to another. Therefore, there is no standard recipe.

According to a laboratory analysis by Energy Control , Funded by the Spanish Ministry of Health, tusi contains three main substances: ketamines, caffeine and MDMA (ecstasy).

In the samples that were analyzed, the concentration of each of them varied. On average, ketamine was in 34% of the total product; MDMA, in 11%, and caffeine, in 14%.

Many people believe that tusi is essentially 2C-B (4-bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenylethylamine), but no, it’s not. Although marketers pass it off as it, in reality it either does not contain this phenylethylamine or has it in a low concentration.

In an interview for the newspaper Time, Julián Quintero, director of Corporación Acción Técnica Social (ATS), a non-profit organization dedicated to educating about substance use, also maintains that:

As a 2021 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) points out, 2C-B is extremely rare in Latin America. Due to this, and as detailed in an extensive investigation of InSight Crime, the drug began to be cut and combined with other chemicals to increase distribution and sales; to the point of creating a mixture that barely contained 2C-B.

What else is known about its composition?

Energy Control analyzes, carried out between 2019 and 2021, have left us interesting results that shed light on what people are consuming when they access tusi. Let’s see a little more.

Of the 72 tusi samples that were examined, coming, to a greater extent, from Madrid and Catalonia, it was found that 32 of them contained ketamine, MDMA and caffeine; 14 had ketamine and MDMA; and in the remaining ones there was a combination of these three substances with others.

And what about 2C-B in the samples? As we already pointed out, the concentrations are either zero or very few. In the aforementioned analyzes only 2C-B was recorded in 5 of the tusi samples.

Some “cooks” add opioids and benzodiazepines to the formula with the intention of generating addiction. The final composition is very variable, and most of the time whoever accesses the drug is completely unaware of what they are really buying.

Effects of consuming tusi

We have seen that tusi has different substances that vary in concentration from one sample to another. This makes their effects different.. If you have a greater amount of ketamine, you may experience:

pleasureeuphoriarelaxationdrunkennessdisinhibitionhallucinationspositive mooddecreased sensation of painaltered perception of time

Ketamine is a very powerful and dangerous drug. In high doses can cause unconsciousness, coma, seizures, stroke, asphyxiation, and cardiac arrest. On the other hand, if the tusi has a higher concentration of ecstasy, a person may feel:

euphoriaextroversiondepersonalizationillogical or disorganized thoughtsintensification of the feeling of well-beingincreased sensory perception of stimuliamplification and intensification of emotional sensationswillingness to talk about memories with great emotional charge

Ecstasy generates immediate pleasure, since it promotes the release of dopamine and serotonin in the brain. Additionally, according to a 2020 article published in Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, can cause neuronal damage, due to the deregulation of neurotransmitters and increased oxidative stress.

According to the Échele Cabeza project of the Social Technical Action Corporation, some unwanted effects that may occur are the following:

nauseanosebleedheadacheanxiety or panicdecreased motor coordination

In the long term, tusi can generate:

psychosisdependencecognitive impairmentsleep disordersmood disorders

We cannot fail to mention that, like other drugs, dependence on tusi generates negative consequences at both a social, work and personal level. Not only the addict is affected, but also the people close to him, especially his family.

Risky combinations

The dangerous combinations of which tusi is composed and the effects they produce are the following:

Ketamine and MDMA: elevated serotonin levels, hallucinations, feelings of disconnection and derealization, damage to the heart and liver.Ketamine and caffeine: liver damage, different reactions depending on the dose, predominance of the stimulant effect, increase in unwanted effects, reduction in the duration of the dominant sensation.Ketamine and BZD/opioids: potentiation of the sedative effect, dizziness, drowsiness, difficulty focusing, confusion, problems thinking clearly and coordination problems. The combination of these substances can lead to loss of consciousness and respiratory depression. Ketamine and antidepressants: increased side effects such as dizziness, drowsiness, confusion, difficulty concentrating, intense sedation and respiratory depression. MDMA and caffeine: Damage to the heart and liver, possible increase in dopamine and norepinephrine, increase in cardiorespiratory rate, risk of hyperstimulation, increased alertness, greater likelihood of anxiety.MDMA and benzodiazepines: Depending on how they are administered, they may have different metabolic pathways. Depending on the dose, one effect may predominate over the other. There is a risk of damage to the liver and heart.MDMA and opioids: risk of heart and liver damage.MDMA and antidepressants: risk of serotonin syndrome symptoms, heart and liver damage, potentiation of the effects of MDMA.Caffeine and opioids: The effects vary depending on the dose and method of administration, with opposite effects predominating.

How to prevent consumption among young people?

To prevent consumption and its consequences, The best action is to raise awareness among adolescents, where the role of the family plays an important role.. Most families make the mistake of shifting the problem to their children or to those who suffer from addiction.

However, the problem is a system in which everyone has contributed in some way to its appearance. Therefore, everyone “should take responsibility.” Prevention is the best way and it is much more comfortable than intervening.

Young people must be given the tools to have more critical thinking, to self-regulate, to reaffirm their identity and improve their self-esteem. Parenting is key in all this, trust and limits at home.

In general, addiction is usually a symptom that the entire family system has been weakened. and appears through a visible link. This response must be addressed as an opportunity to improve, with openness, humility, with the ability to recognize what each person deserves to improve the situation. That said, it is important to emphasize that children do not get lost on the street, but at home.

Final considerations on the consumption of tusi

To finish, we want to make it very clear to you that, although the word tusibí or tusi derives from the phonetics of 2C-B (tu-ci-bi, in English), It is not the same as this phenylethylamine. Socially, they have been equated and on many websites they are taken as synonyms, but they are not the same drug. Don’t be fooled.

Tusi has negative repercussions on physical and mental health, just like all drugs have it, and even more so if they are capable of generating dependency. We invite you to be careful with its consumption, because, as the saying goes, “prevention is better than sorry.”

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