2C-B and “tusi”: Similar names, very different drugs
Thursday, 1 August, 2024.
A rave - a common place where people like to take 2C-B and ‘tusi’! Source: Unsplash.
2C-B and “tusi” are not the same drug.
2C-B, aka “tripstacy”, is a psychedelic drug with some stimulant effects. The effects, lasting roughly 4 hours, lie somewhere between MDMA and LSD.
“Tusi”, aka “tucibi” and “pink cocaine” is more of a brand than a particular substance. It is distinctive for its pink colour. This drug cocktail, popular in South America, has nothing to do with 2C-B despite the similar sounding nicknames. Testing has shown that tusi tends to containe ket, MDMA, caffeine and pink food colouring, although it can also include other drugs such as coke, ice and opioids.
Avoid mixing tusi with alcohol. Tusi often contains ketamine, which amplifies the effects of alcohol. This mix can cause serious illness.
If you buy 2C-B as a loose fine powder, not packed into caps, you’ll need to use or buy scales that measure to 3 decimal places of a gram. The dosage for 2C-B is far smaller than for other party drugs so eye-balling your dosage is neither advised nor safe.
Snorting 2C-B is extremely painful.
I pour out the white powder from the capsule.
This doesn’t look like any drug I’ve seen before. The crystals are so fine that they look wispy, fluffy almost, like the hair of a grandparent. I think of grandma as I bring the note to my nostril and the drug practically explodes in my face. People say stimulants like shard and rack kick like a mule when you snort them. Let me tell you they’ve got nothing on 2C-B. It stings.
Usually, taking a psychedelic at kick-ons is not a great idea. The infamous “kick ons tab” is only for proven sesh warriors. Our brains can struggle to handle the intensity of a trip in this tired state.
Today the drugs already in my system have given me chemical courage. It’s 9 AM on a Sunday morning. The Lord’s Day. Fuck.
In no time at all, the come-up kicks in and my heart rate speeds up. The world begins to melt at the edges. Colours sharpen. The next moment my mate Steven has charged out the back gate in pursuit of kick-ons supplies, high on 2C-B. The world of morning joggers and dog-walkers is certainly not for me right now, but I quickly realise that this drug isn’t a normal psychedelic. Sure, I have the usual visuals. But it’s a little more social, a little more forgiving.
Steven comes back an hour later with an inflatable pool, sparkling wine and OJ. Cue: pandemonium.
2C-what?
2C-B is sometimes known as “tripstacy” due to its similarities to LSD and MDMA. What limited data there is seems to suggest that usage of “new psychoactive substances” has steadily increased over the last two decades. Rave, doof and queer communities have adopted 2C-B with gusto. Outside of Erowid vaults and online forums, however, there is very little published writing on this white powder. Type “2C-B use Australia” into Google and you’ll only find 54 results. According to our Dancewize website analytics, however, 2C-B is the most searched substance on the site.
At the same time, a new drug called “tusi” or “tucibi”, which recently became popular in South America, has started to enter Europe in sizable quantities, attracting media attention. You might have seen the Vice documentary about wealthy young clubbers in Colombia favouring this “pink cocaine”, which is marketed by dealers as an exclusive high-end version of coke. Or maybe you’ve heard Hollywood celebrities rave about it.
Now there are signs that tusi is hitting Australian shores. Monthly summaries posted by CanTEST online, Australia’s only permanent fixed-site drug testing facility, regularly contain a sample or two of tusi.
The drug’s name sounds remarkably similar to “2C”, a nickname for 2C-B here in Australia, but this mysterious South American drug has nothing to do with 2C-B whatsoever. Testing has consistently shown that “tusi” contains no 2C-B at all. To be clear: this isn’t some exotic wonder drug. In fact, the contents of “tusi” is remarkably boring and it’s a sign of the likely future of illicit drug production, which is slowly shifting away from plant-based drugs such as weed, coke and heroin and towards synthetic (lab-made) drugs.
Tusi is usually a kings cup mixture of stimulants, psychedelics and dissociatives – essentially whatever is easy to make or whatever is lying around on the floor of the campervan/kitchen labs used by young narco-cooks. The most common ingredients appear to be ket, MDMA, caffeine and pink food colouring but testing has shown that “tusi” also commonly contains ice and cocaine. Tusi may sometimes also include opioids or psychedelics such as acid. With street names like “tusi” and “pink cocaine”, this drug, more of a brand than a specific substance, must surely go down in history as one of the most confusingly named illicit drugs.
Bags of ‘tusi’. Photo source: anonymous.
Since both 2C-B and tusi are rising in popularity here in Australia, we’ve put together this guide on the two drugs to dispel misinformation.
2C-B: A designer drug on the rise
2C is the name for a specific family of “phenethylamines” drugs with stimulant and psychedelic effects. There’s a whole alphabet soup of 2C drugs – 2C-B, 2C-I, 2C-E and 2C-P, to name a few. There are dozens of them. The most common is 2C-B, which was first synthesised by the iconic chem wizard Alexander Shulgin in 1974.
Widescale illicit use of 2C-B originated on the dancefloors of outdoor raves and laser-filled nightclubs in the 1990s. Since then, interest in the 2C series of drugs and usage appears to have steadily risen. 2C-B has also been used in chemsex parties and in underground psychedelic therapy, indicating it’s spreading beyond rave scenes. Now that the drug has almost hit the mainstream, the question now arises: can we even call 2C-B a “research chemical” or “novel psychoactive substance” anymore?
Caitlin Dooley, people and event management specialist at Dancewize NSW, tells me there is “rising interest” in both 2C-B and tusi. She compares this recent trend to the rapid surge of interest in ketamine several years ago, just before it became a prolific drug in the illicit market.
At music festivals and gigs, Dancewize members offer harm reduction advice to punters, managing chill-out zones and roaming through crowds. So they’re extremely useful sources for a boots-on-the-ground perspective on party drug trends.
Dancewize staff have seen “a significant increase in educational interactions around 2C-B, tusi and research chemicals in the most recent festival season,” Caitlin says.
It’s difficult to track Australian rates of 2C-B usage because drug surveys and industry reports usually lump the drug into the category “novel psychoactive substances” (NPS), sometimes known as “research chemicals”. NPS is a broad term for new synthetic drugs, often legal highs, that have similar effects and chemical structures to well-known street drugs. They’re intended to dodge prohibition in a game of cat and mouse where underground chemists invent new drugs, tweaking molecular structures to stay one step ahead of the law. NPS can therefore refer to everything from synthetic cannabis products to niche psychedelics, from nitazenes to bath salts.
But there is data to back up what Caitlin tells Users News. The latest Illicit Drug Data Report, which covered the period 2020-21, indicated that border seizures of NPS rose by 113 percent compared to the year prior, from 609 detections to 1,299. A significant contributor to this surge was “2C-group substances”.
The last annual report of the Illicit Drug Reporting System (IDRS) indicates that the number of Australians using “new drugs that mimic the effects of psychedelic drugs” has risen in recent years. This aligns with drug consumption trends in the US where there is more available research.
Ok but what the fuck is 2C-B like to take?
“I adore the visuals,” Jane , a former Dancewize NSW volunteer, tells me when I ask her what she likes about 2C-B (not her real name). “I rarely get intense visuals from psychedelics but 2C-B really does make the whole world look so exceptionally beautiful. Every time I take it I feel like I’m looking at everything through a kaleidoscope or an Instagram rainbow glitter filter. Also, there’s the euphoria and the giggles.”
Put simply: in a small dose, 2C-B feels similar to MDMA. In larger doses, 2C-B is more akin to short-duration acid. Usually lasting 4 hours, the drug will energise you, warp your vision and bring on euphoria.
For reference, here’s a dosage guide. Note: this guide is based on peer advice, not medical advice.
A low dose is around 5 to 15 milligrams (0.005 grams to 0.015 grams).
A medium recreational dose is around 10 to 25 milligrams (0.010 to 0.025 grams).
A large dose is around 25 to 40 milligrams (0.025 to 0.040 grams).
Unlike MDMA, 2C-B doesn’t deplete serotonin, the chemical in our bodies that tells us to be happy. Instead, it mimics it. It means you won’t get the same hangover and come down blues as you do after an MDMA bender.
But that doesn’t mean just go for it. This is still a powerful drug that requires a cautious approach.
2C-B safety guide: Only serious talk now
First of all, it’s important to know that what you’re taking really is 2C-B. A fixed-site drug checking facility will give you by far the most accurate reading possible (there is one in Canberra, one in Brisbane and one in the Gold Coast currently). If you’re not in Canberra, Brisbane or the Gold Coast, it’s worth using a home reagent testing kit. These DIY kits work by helping you understand what your drug isn’t. They won’t be able to distinguish between 2C-B and a more niche 2C drug, such as 2C-P, but you will get some wacky results very quickly if you’ve accidentally bought tusi. Testing has shown that “tusi” is a drug cocktail containing ketamine and MDMA primarily.
Many people turn to the dark web for NPS, such as 2C-B and tusi, because they’re rare. It’s easy to score online and we assume that the dark web is a more reliable source than buying gear off your local dealer due to the publicised nature of reviews on dark web boards. However, research suggests there’s little difference between dark web drug markets and normal illicit drug markets. So don’t assume the drugs are superior just because you’ve sourced them from the dark web.
Once you’re confident that the substance you have is 2C, make sure you’re in the right place mentally and a comfortable environment. Remember: psychedelics are intense. Not only do they alter our vision and create mystical experiences, they can amplify what is going on inside our mind. It’s worth having a “trip-sitter” with you, a sober friend who knows what it’s like to trip on psychedelics, in case you feel overwhelmed.
One final word of warning: the strength of different 2C drugs varies, as does the amount of time you’ll trip for. 2C-P, for example, has led to documented cases of hospitalisation. It is substantially stronger than 2C-B and lasts far longer, usually between 10 and 16 hours, although some user reports indicate that in high doses 2C-P can last 24 hours or longer.
To bump or not to bump? That is the question
Most of the time you’ll find 2C-B sold in caps or pressed pills. You can snort it, yes, but here’s the downlow.
We’ve heard stories of people doing bumps of 2C-B on the dancefloor at doofs or in dark night clubs where it’s hard to measure the dosage properly. This is very worrying. Safe dosages of 2C-B are miniscule when compared with drugs such as MDMA, ice, ket and rack. The dose is so small, in fact, that if you buy 2C-B as a loose fine powder, not packed into capsules, the usual scales you or your dealer use probably won’t cut it. You’ll have to buy scales that measure to 3 decimal places of a gram. Take a bump from a bag and you risky reality bending at the edges in frightening ways, nausea and/or paranoia.
If you really do insist on doing a bump (we pray you’ve dosed it correctly), Caitlin from Dancewize provides valuable advice. “I have seen people walking around with spoons around their neck that are the size of small teaspoons! Not all bumps are equal and spoon size matters. So, we recommend that you start slow and go slow when bumping 2C-B or any substances.”
Furthermore, 2C-B – real 2C-B – is renowned for stinging your nostrils, so be prepared for a sharp pain that may linger if you’re snorting the drug. It hurts far more than racking up (crystal) meth or ecstasy. Trust me, I know from experience! Using a saline nasal spray before and after snorting can help protect the inside of your nose from damage. You can buy these sprays at chemists for roughly 10 to 15 bucks in varying sizes.
2C-B shouldn’t be mixed with other drugs because it’s already a highly strong drug on its own. As always, we recommend starting with a half dose.
So what about tusi?
As tusi causes mass confusion, even among seasoned psychonauts, education is vital for those using these niche drugs. One friend, who guesses he has tried 2C-B 15 times, admits to me that he only recently discovered that tusi and 2C-B were completely different.
Caitlin from Dancewize suggests “many people are discovering this class of drugs through the rise of ‘Drug-Tok’ or ‘Cartel-Tok’… It seems to be heavily tied to algorithms associated with rave, music and party scenes so I think people might even be accidentally falling down this rabbit hole and discovering drugs they wouldn’t have known about otherwise.”
“My concern here is that many tusi videos show a pink substance being directly extracted from plants using traditional methods. Tusi in Australia is not this kind of substance… We need to remember that what we see on the internet and what we get on the ground are not always the same. Think of Drug-Tok as reality TV. Yes it is showing a version of reality that exists for someone somewhere but it isn’t our reality and the things being made in these videos are rarely the final product sold on the street.”
‘Tusi’. Photo source: anonymous.
A key giveaway that you’ve bought tusi is the pink colour. For 200 dollars a bag – this is what one friend recently paid – you’re probably not getting great bang for buck.
Besides the hit to your wallet though, the main thing to watch out for is mixing tusi with alcohol. Tusi is known as “pink cocaine”. Now, coke and alcohol is like bread and butter for Australians. It’s a common pairing we love after some hard yakka. But tusi doesn’t always contain cocaine. It does usually contain ketamine, however, a sedative drug which you should avoid mixing with alcohol.
Tusi often contains unexpected substances including opioids. Those planning to snort tusi should get naloxone, a life-saving medication that rapidly and effectively reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Naloxone comes in two forms: a nasal spray or an intramuscular injection. No prescription is needed. NUAA can mail out naloxone for free. It’s also free at many NSPs and community pharmacies.
It’s likely we’ll increasingly see dealers advertising tusi as “2C-B” in the future. Hopefully you know now to take this claim with a grain of salt.