A 14-year-old teenager died last Friday in the Spanish city of Getafe (Madrid) after drinking a can of energy drink.to which they added two grams of so-called “pink cocaine” or “tusi”, a drug that mixes substances such as ketamine or ecstasy.

The juvenile, identified as Ryan, met with two friends and other youths they met through instagram And? They allegedly added the drug to the drink without the young man noticing.

However, the Spanish National Police reported that the teenager voluntarily ingested the substance, although he did not rule out any hypothesis.

After drinking a jar of drugs, Ryan lost consciousness and died on the spot. According to his family, the young people he met through instagram They posted a video on social networks in which they ridiculed about drugging a minor, but then it was erased.

What is “pink cocaine”?

Psychology professor and addiction expert at the European University of the Canary Islands Jorge Pastor explained that “pink cocaine” or “tusi” is a substance consisting mainly of ketamine, caffeine and other psychoactive components, although “its composition may vary” depending on who produces it, since there is no “single recipe” for this drug.

This is what Pastor said in an interview with the agency Europe Press, in which he assured that since “pink cocaine” may contain different substances, The effects can also be varied. “For example, if we move to ‘pink cocaine’, which is made up of ketamine, the person who uses it will experience depressive effects, which cause drowsiness and are a nervous system depressant, leaving a feeling of drowsiness,” he explained.

On the other hand, if this type of drug consists of other psychostimulants such as caffeine, “We will find excessive activation of the nervous system,” he said, adding that “if we combine two substances, a sedative and an active, they can have completely different effects.”

The expert assured that “tusi” along with energy drinks may cause “even more stimulation of the body”. “We have to remember that energy drinks on their own can already cause some type of heart attack, so when combined with any substance, the situation can be made worse,” he explained.

Pink cocaine and cocaine

Regarding the comparison between “pink cocaine” and cocaine, Jorge Pastor explained that the two substances “have nothing to do with each other” since “they only have a name in common.”

“Pink cocaine” is a mixture of various substances, with cocaine primarily coming from the coca plant, which is then processed. In addition, cocaine has other effects, it is a stimulant, and “pink cocaine” can be a repressor of the nervous system,” he said.

Likewise, the consumption of “pink cocaine” is a “relatively new” phenomenon in Spain compared to the consumption of cocaine, given that it began to be produced “about 10 or 15 years ago.”

Dependency type

Regarding the addiction that yew can cause, Pastor recalled that “any drug, if taken for a long time, can cause addiction”, which “will depend on the tolerance and dependence of each person.”

“When a drug is consumed, it registers in the nucleus accumbens, the area of ​​our brain responsible for classifying the sensations we perceive. This “pink cocaine” is not made up of one substance, but several. So we have to keep in mind that only caffeine itself is addictive, and we also need to add the effects of ketamine and other substances that cause different kinds of sensations.”

An addiction expert from the European University of the Canary Islands also said there were “several” health risks associated with using “pink cocaine”. “We may experience tachycardia, hypertension, lack of sleep and even bad mood if not consumed for a long time,” he added.

“If the substances consumed are stimulants, we may experience loss of sleep, a state of constant wakefulness, anxiety and tics,” said Pastor, who assured that long-term use of this type of drug can lead to a “lack of self-confidence.” respect, loss of social connections and economic losses, which entails feelings of guilt.”

Drug use among young people

The pastor assured that more and more young people are coming to him for consultation in search of help with drug use, and the expert attributes this to social networks that “connect with each other” and “facilitate” access to this type of substance.

“The availability of drugs is much more accessible thanks to social networks. No one on Facebook or Instagram writes that they sell “pink cocaine,” but they create contacts among themselves that can lead to an exchange,” he said.

In this sense, he said that young people need to have more information about drugs and the effects they can have on the body.

“First of all, we need to talk about the symptoms, what can happen in the body and what impact it can have. We have a lot of advertising campaigns, for example, with tobacco, with images on packs, and in the end there is still consumption. But with emotional education aimed at understanding when they need help, we could improve the situation,” he explained.

The expert also assured that young people should seek psychological help when “they lose control of the situation,” that is, “no matter how they try to get out of it, they cannot.”

(according to information from Europe Press And Aristegui News)