“Pink Cocaine” Makes Its Way into Texas from Miami, Los Angeles, New York, and Latin America

The dangerous new combination drug “pink cocaine” moves from international distribution and major U.S. cities to Texas.

In October 2024, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) warned the public of the arrival of a new drug mixture on the illicit market in Texas.¹ This new combination drug was nicknamed “pink cocaine.” Despite the name, it seldom contains any cocaine. It contains a varying combination of other drugs and gets its pink coloring from pink food coloring. The color is just to make it look different from all the other powdered drugs on the market.

The DEA and news sources have reported recent seizures of this drug in both Austin and Houston.² In the U.S., the drug has previously been seized in Miami, New York, and Los Angeles. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reports that the drug was originally found in Spain, Switzerland, Canada, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile, Myanmar, and Thailand, as far back as 2021.³

What is Pink Cocaine and What Are Its Effects?

It’s a powdered, dyed mixture of illicit drugs. Every batch seems to be different, but the most common drug found is the animal anesthetic ketamine. The following drugs may also be found:

• MDMA, also known as ecstasy
• MDA
• Methamphetamine
• Cocaine
• Fentanyl
• Heroin
• Xylazine
• Caffeine
• New synthetic drugs including bath salts

Pink cocaine is usually ingested in pill form or is snorted as a powder. It is seldom dissolved for injection. The mixture may also contain strawberry or other flavoring, which can give the mixture a sweet taste or smell.

This combination drug started out containing a synthetic drug called 2C-B, which gave rise to the alternative nickname “tusi,” although the mixtures no longer contain any 2C-B.³,⁴

Because of the random mixtures found in every batch, it is difficult to accurately list the effects of pink cocaine. Typical effects include:⁴

• Increase in sociability
• Euphoria
• Vomiting
• Loss of consciousness
• Severe agitation
• Anxiety
• Nausea
• Dissociation
• Paranoia
• Hallucinations

If an overdose occurs, these symptoms, which can result in death, may be seen:

• High body temperature
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Seizures
• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Stroke

The drug has been used as a date rape drug. Physical assaults and traumatic injuries have also occurred when people have taken this drug mixture.

Because of the varying ingredients, it’s not possible to predict how a person will react to this drug. It will also be difficult to provide treatment if the drug combination has a bad effect.

It’s important to realize that any mixture that contains fentanyl can be deadly. There is no quality control to ensure that any particular dose will not contain a fatal dose of this opioid. Any mixture that contains methamphetamine or heroin can quickly become addictive. Ketamine and ecstasy can also become addictive, but they generally trap a person more slowly.

The UNODC Notes Dangerous Effects of Ketamine Abuse

The UNODC report on this new mixture of drugs making its way around the world noted that the most common component has been the anesthetic sedative ketamine. While there is currently some limited medical use for ketamine among humans, it is mostly used as a veterinary anesthetic. The report went on to describe ketamine’s effects:³ “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.”

UNODC

Deaths in Asia from Pink Drug Mixtures

Distribution of this combination drug follows many years of ketamine abuse in Southeast Asia. This ketamine abuse evolved into distribution of a product similar to pink cocaine that was marketed as “happy water,” or as a powder called “k-powdered milk.” “Happy water” was also a pink, powdery substance.³

These products were often sold online or at party venues. In Thailand in 2021, there were 13 deaths among users of k-powdered milk.⁵ The combination that killed these individuals contained ketamine, diazepam (Valium), and caffeine in various concentrations. K-powdered milk was sometimes reported to contain ketamine, methamphetamine, heroin, anti-anxiety medications, or sleeping pills. The abuse of anything so unpredictable can always be life-threatening.

Pink Cocaine in the News

This drug combination made headlines in the U.S. in recent months. One of the employees of Sean “Diddy” Combs sued the musician, alleging that he and other employees were forced to carry around supplies of pink cocaine and other drugs so that they would be readily accessible.⁶

Pink cocaine was also mentioned as a drug taken by One Direction musician Liam Payne just before he fell or jumped off a balcony in Buenos Aires in October 2024. A more complete toxicology report issued in November 2024 stated that the only drugs in his body at the time of his death were cocaine, alcohol, and a prescription antidepressant. Three people were arrested for supplying him with drugs or leaving him alone just before his death. Payne was 31 at the time of his death.

Pink Cocaine Seizures Are Expanding Internationally

The United Nations reported in December 2022 that the number seizures of these products—tusi, happy water, and k-powdered milk—was expanding rapidly. In Chile, just one country where the drug was found, the number of seizures increased from next to nothing in 2018 to 500 in 2019 and nearly 2,500 in 2021.³

The lesson that must be learned is that there is no illicit drug that is fully safe to consume. This is especially true when fentanyl could be found in any drug on the market. For a person who cannot control their urge to use drugs, safety can only be found in an effective drug rehabilitation program that puts them back in control of this urge.

Sources:

Karen

After a few years working at the Narconon center in Oklahoma, Karen has been researching drug trends around the world and writing reports and articles on addiction and recovery for nine years.
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