Tuci, like all drugs, goes by many names. What was originally 2cb, is now called pink blow, tusi, tucibi, and many other things. It is marketed as a pink powdered narcotic for the upper class in the last 20 years across the world. More recently, it is being sold as a dangerous compound of drugs in Mexican beach cities and other large cities across the world.
The original tuci, a compound named 2C-B (4-Bromo-2,5-dimethoxyphenethylamine), was invented by Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin in the United States in 1974. Sasha is often referred to as the godfather of ecstasy, even though he didn’t invent it, he did massive amounts of research on it and similar compounds.
The first form was similar to MDMA and ecstacy, with euphoric and stimulant properties. Its popularity rose and fell in the U.S. and European party scene over the decades, mostly in the club and festival crowds.
Over time, it eventually made its way from Amsterdam to Colombia’s party scene. By the time it hit Colombia it was a very expensive drug compared to the blow that everyone could afford. This made it more of an elite drug, sought after by the rich and narcos.
Colombians, having the ability to be the drug entrepreneurs that make some of them famous, decided to make their own 2cb. The original formulas in Colombia varied, but typically it was a mix of cocaine, caffeine powder, ketamine, and small amounts of MDMA. It was then dyed pink to replicate the original 2cb, however in Spanish the acronym is pronounced out to be “tucibi”, or tuci for short.
Popping pills was not the rage at this time in Colombia (around 2008), so they crushed it into a snortable form, even though it was very harsh to the nose.
It continued to rise to fame in South America and Panama at VIP tables in every big nightclub. The problem for users was that the formula varied greatly. Some were getting high and some were passing out asleep. Despite the inconsistency it was seen as an elite drug for years.
Years went by and marketing varied. By 2017 I was still being approached with the mythical pink drug in Latin America. This particular instance was on the streets of Panama, and they were calling it Peruvian Pink, “the pretty colored blow that was stronger and drug dogs could not detect”.
While for a short period that was the goal in Colombia, to make a potent drug that drug dogs could not detect. But it didn't take long before cross contamination and wild jungle chemists kept changing things up.
As of 2023 tuci is usually sold by the infamous “WhatsApp drug dealers” in Latin America, who offer a menu of drugs before every weekend and have it delivered by courier. It has gained popularity in Mexico, even though nobody knows what the hell it really is. Mainly sold in beach cities for festivals, the batches are whipped up and may never be recreated the same.
In Mexico, it is now typically crystal (cristal) methamphetamine mixed with smaller amounts of MDMA and Ketamine. It is then of course dyed pink. Back in Medellin, Colombia, the main formula is currently ketamine, caffeine and MDMA (with an attempt of quality control by the Oficina de Envigado, the heirs to Pablo Escobar's empire).
Mexico has started to return to an older school term for blow, polvo (dust or powder), so tuci inherently became “polvo rosa”. (Slowly ditching the popular terms “perico and llello” made famous in Colombia and Miami over generations and going back to what Mexicans called blow in the 1980’s.)
Recently an American citizen was arrested in Playa del Carmen with 12 “doses” of polvo rosa and 10 “doses” of polvo blanco. It is rare for Americans to be arrested for recreational drug use in Mexican beach cities, but new crackdowns have begun and he was carrying just a little too much. Authorities went as far to parade him for the media, as if he was a drug dealer.
While I have never met a tusi addict, I also haven't been to many clubs or concerts in Mexico without seeing or hearing about it. The safest bet is to just avoid it all together, since the extreme uncertainty of what you are taking is definitely a risk.
Nice explanation, K. I shall endeavor to keep it at arm's length (which shouldn't be too hard, unless it is making the rounds in coffee shops and panaderías).