Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41583387›Full record

ArticleCurrent addiction reports2025

An Update on the Epidemiology of Tusi ("Pink Cocaine").

Nina Abukahok, Nicole D Fitzgerald, Joseph J Palamar

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Current addiction reports, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Nina AbukahokDepartment of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Avenue, Room 1752, New York, NY 10016, USA.
Nicole D FitzgeraldDepartment of Epidemiology, Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, New York, NY, USA.
Joseph J PalamarDepartment of Population Health, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, 180 Madison Avenue, Room 1752, New York, NY 10016, USA.

Funding

National Drug Early Warning System (NDEWS) COVID-19 SupplementU01DA051126 · NIDA · UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA · PI Linda B. Cottler, Joseph J Palamar · 2020 to 2026
$6.3M
Substance Abuse Epidemiology Training Program (SAETP) at Columbia UniversityT32DA031099 · NIDA · COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY HEALTH SCIENCES · PI DEBORAH S HASIN, Silvia Saboia Martins · 2012 to 2026
$6.1M
New psychoactive substance exposure among NYC nightclub and festival attendeesR01DA057289 · NIDA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Joseph J Palamar · 2023 to 2026
$2.7M
Investigating the Ketamine Landscape: Availability, Medical and Recreational Use, and EffectsR01DA060207 · NIDA · NEW YORK UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE · PI Joseph J Palamar · 2024 to 2026
$2.1M
NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA057289NIDA NIH HHS R01 DA060207NIDA NIH HHS T32 DA031099NIDA NIH HHS U01 DA051126
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Purpose of Review: Tusi, also known as "pink cocaine," has emerged across nightlife scenes in Latin America, Europe, Australia, and the United States (US). Tusi is typically a drug mixture containing ketamine and 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). Due to tusi's inconsistent chemical makeup, surveillance and harm reduction efforts have proven difficult for researchers and consumers alike. This review synthesizes evidence from peer-reviewed literature, drug checking programs, toxicology reports, and law enforcement data published between 2020 and 2025 to characterize tusi's composition, epidemiology, and associated risks. Recent Findings: Drug checking services in various countries have identified ketamine and MDMA as the main components of tusi with additional substances often added (e.g., synthetic cathinones, cocaine, methamphetamine) in varying combinations. Laboratory data from Spain show that ketamine concentrations in tusi have increased over time. Surveys in Spain and Colombia highlight increases in initiation, polysubstance use involving tusi, and misclassification of its contents. Toxicology and case series reports indicate that harms associated with use stem largely from polysubstance mixtures rather than any single component, yet morbidity and mortality data typically focus on individual drugs detected. Summary: Tusi exemplifies a novel trend in emerging drugs: it is a blend of substances rather than a single compound, with its identity shaped by its distinctive color and association with nightlife. Its inconsistent composition and frequent co-use with stimulants and dissociatives elevate risk while complicating surveillance. Standardized survey items, expanded drug checking, and improved toxicological monitoring are needed to track and respond to this evolving mixture in the global drug supply.

Indexed as

Drug checkingKetamineMDMAPink cocainePolysubstance useTusi

Identifiers

PMID41583387
PMCPMC12826529

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.