The tusi is, in itself, an impostor. Its name comes from the spelled form, translated from English and Spanish, of 2C-B, a synthetic drug. Initially this was one of the main ingredients of some pink powders which, packaged in small Ziploc bags, with special flavors and editions, began to be prepared in Colombia at the end of the 2000s. It is a cocktail of many substances with which we always play Russian roulette, since those who consume it – generally, inhaling it through the nose – are never sure what it contains. If someone becomes addicted, they will not know exactly what substance they are addicted to.
Some of their blends have been “patented” and take their name from perfumes, since each one is so particular that whoever produces it, as in perfumery, not only requires chemical knowledge of the ingredients, but transforms each formula into the best kept secret of the house that created the fragrance or, in this case, of the chef or reseller. Among the infinite combinations that can be made with its components – mainly ketamine and MDMA, or ecstasy, its two main ingredients, although it contains many more – two “special editions” have emerged under the labels of ‘Calvin Klein’ or ‘Coco Chanel’.
The latter, according to investigations by the Mexican authorities, could be the cause behind the murder of the Colombian DJ Jorge Luis Herrera Lemos, DJ Regio Clownand urban music singer Bayron Sánchez Salazar, B-Kingwhose dismembered bodies were found in that country last September. The main line of the investigation indicates that it would be a retaliation by the Mexican cartels against the alleged initiative of the artists to enter the drug market under the name of ‘Coco Chanel’..
An analysis by Échele head, a Colombian organization working to reduce the risks and harms of consuming psychoactive substances, revealed that ‘Coco Chanel’ is not a new drug but a type of tusi, only white in colour, with the smell of coconut and a touch of caffeine; while the book Chemical tenebrism: State and criticism of reason tusiwritten by Colombian historian Enrique La Rotta, points out that “Calvin Klein”, “Special K” or “coketa” is a form in which ketamine is usually sold in the United States and Europe, which with its fragrant name represents the drug as a marketing phenomenon. Cocaine is added to the latter “to counteract the anesthetic and depressant effects of ketamine”.
While the variations of tusi can be endless, in most cases its main ingredients are ketamine (an anesthetic) and MDMA, or ecstasy (a stimulant), according to a 2023 report from the same organization’s Substance Analysis Service. But the piñata contains another wide variety of substances, both legal and illegal, ranging from sucrose, lactose, caffeine, acetaminophen, taurine and benzodiazepines, to opioids, Viagra and methamphetamines.
The experience of its consumption, moreover, usually oscillates between the effects of its two main synthetic drugs: one that anesthetizes and another that generates an empathogenic effect that allows one to connect, through dance, with the environment and music, and which even – with its emotional and social effects – has paradoxically managed to calm conflicts between drug traffickers.
In Colombia there is some consensus on the origin of these pink powders: it dates back to guaracha parties, a genre of electronic music that emerged between 2007 and 2008 as part of parties held on farms on the outskirts of Medellín and in cities in the coffee region, as well as in luxury apartments. However, if you look closely, you find that it is a binational phenomenon. Both guaracha and tusi, independent processes whose history is intertwined, have been linked to Mexico since their origins. This relationship could explain, in part, the murder of DJ Regio Clown and of B-Kingsince both tusi and guaracha gained strength thanks to «a circuit of DJs between Colombia and Mexico», La Rotta explains in his book.
An “exclusive drug”
Although Tusi was born as a 2C-B impostor, some of its variants or seasonal editions contain traces of this synthetic drug. Except that 2C-B, due to its name imitation, is now known as Nexus. Their blends are endless. Each of them is also a marketing exercise and a way to build customer loyalty. Thus, each new creation becomes a seasonal product with a grape or arequipe flavour.
But the biggest marketing success is painting this drug pink – although it is now experimenting with other colors too – in a country that has a global stigma against white powders. With a new tone and under the mystery of not knowing what it is made of, unlike other drugs, consuming tusi is no longer a rude, shocking and adult experience: you do not feel the chemical odor of the substances, nor their bitterness entering the body; but “it is an act that takes us back to childhood and denies our ability to decide”, we read Chemical tenebrism.
Little by little, the original substance that had given it its name disappeared from Tusi: 2C-B. Historian Enrique La Rotta explains that at low doses 2C-B behaves like a psychedelic and at high doses like LSD. “You gravitate between those two experiences. It’s not that toxic and it’s pretty noble for the body,” he says in a phone interview. But these intense experiences were not compatible with the lightness of the environment in which they were consumed; It wasn’t “what people at a party are looking for, who want to be stimulated for a while, have fun and continue to smell in a habitual way. This is something that can’t be done with a complex substance like the original 2C-B,” he explains.
And the Tusi came to change everything. “The rise of these parties coincides with a change in the role and imagery of the drug trafficker. These highly popular caudillo figures, the bosses/anti-heroes and the large renowned cartels, die with the 20th century to give rise to a low-profile, corporate gangster, who the last thing he wants is to be known by everyone, but who is not free from risks, frustrations and desires for pleasure and disconnection”, adds the researcher.
In some strange way, tusi is a “signature drug,” states La Rotta in his critical essay. “The drug dealer takes the recipe with him wherever he goes” and with this new dynamic the rules of the fight against drug trafficking are changing. As the United States bombs suspected drug traffickers in the Caribbean and Pacific, this market has found a way to change. “Before, to be a drug trafficker you had to have a large infrastructure, acres of land, a distribution system, large plantations, laboratories in the middle of the jungle. Now you just have to have a contact who will sell you certain items.” In turn, production moves from the countryside to the big cities, to any home, in an anarchic and decentralized process.
“It is very difficult that the control of the authorities can stop this market,” warns Mauro Díaz, chemist and coordinator of the Échele Cabeza analysis service, in a telephone interview. If the war against drugs such as cocaine has failed, he says, “which is a substance that is extracted from thousands of hectares in Colombia, it is more difficult to control something that someone can prepare with just a few ingredients. That is precisely where tusi comes from, that anyone can prepare it”.
«The profession of ‘marcial-chef’ is also a response to the culture of gleaning», adds La Rotta. In a culture that values innovation and customer service, the reseller finds echo in these principles. The distribution of medicines therefore works according to a business logic: there are promotions, special editions, addresses and orders are generally placed via WhatsApp. The publicity push comes from its mentions in numerous reggaeton songs and, contradictory as it may seem, also in press releases. It is not a marketplace, but a personalized one, in which users trust and give feedback reseller.
In his essay La Rotta addresses the tusi phenomenon as one of the ways in which the profound crisis of meaning of the new Colombian generations manifests itself: young people who were promised that studying would guarantee success, but who ended up working in a call center. “We come from a pandemic, which broke out when the economic crisis was preparing. Studying and working guarantee you absolutely nothing. And my generation is very: we will travel, we will consume, we will live this life intensely, since the future promises us nothing.”
However, in the absence of information, there is also no awareness of the consequences. “That whole generation that smells of pink dust every weekend, to the rhythm of reggaeton, guaracha and electronic music, will urinate blood in a few years,” he warns. Bladder damage is one of the potential physical consequences of ketamine, while MDMA can cause neurological damage. Probably, in a few decades, tusi consumption will become a public health problem.
Ketamine has another side: it brings benefits when used in a controlled manner as an analgesic and has, among others, anti-inflammatory and anti-tumor properties. As cited in the book, “It was shown that a single dose could reduce suicidal ideation for a week, especially in patients emerging from a crisis and attempting to take their own life.” It is technically an antidepressant that many young people unknowingly self-medicate. “This antidepressant capacity of ketamine, in dialogue with other substances, transforms the cough almost into a psychiatric home remedy that keeps young people and ‘adults’ afloat week after week”, underlines the text. “If we think about it, it is the ideal experience for our hyper-consumerist and hyper-depressed societies,” he concludes. It is a cocktail “child of our time”.
