An initial toxicology report revealed that singer Liam Payne, former member of the band One Direction, had multiple drugs in his system, including “pink cocaine,” when he fell from the balcony of a hotel in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina.
Here’s what you need to know about that drug cocktail.
What is “pink cocaine”?
“Pink cocaine” is usually a powder mix of ketamine and illegal substances such as methamphetamine, MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy) or opiates, according to the specialized media WebMD.
Researchers have also found new psychoactive substances in its composition, which are a new type of synthetic drug, according to the media. “Pink cocaine” may also contain benzodiazepines, caffeine, hallucinogens, and bath salts.
Despite its name, the recreational drug may not contain cocaine at all, and gets its color from food dyes.
This drug is also known as tusi, tusibi, tuci or tucibi.
What effects does this drug have?
It can be difficult to determine how this drug cocktail may affect someone after ingesting it. According to WebMD, this is due to several factors: the types of drugs mixed into “pink cocaine,” whether alcohol is involved, how much is consumed, and how the body reacts.
“Pink cocaine” also often includes depressants and stimulants.
Its possible side effects may vary, but may include confusion, hallucinations, strange thoughts, agitation, and feeling unwell, according to WebMD. The National Capital Poison Center stated that physical and sexual assaults, as well as traumatic injuries, have occurred when people are intoxicated by the drug.
Shortly before Payne’s death, a hotel receptionist called 911 to report that a distraught guest who was intoxicated on alcohol and drugs was “breaking up the entire room.”
According to audio obtained from local media by Noticias Telemundo, the caller said that the guest was “in a room that has a balcony and, well, we are a little afraid that he might do something that endangers his life.”
Argentina’s Emergency Medical Care System (SAME) confirmed to Noticias Telemundo that Payne fell from the balcony of his third-floor room at the CasaSur Palermo hotel.
Payne, 31, was found dead a few minutes after the 911 call, SAME director Alberto Crescenti told the Argentine television channel Todo Noticias TV.
The autopsy determined that the singer had 25 injuries “compatible with those caused by a fall from a height” and that the cause of his death was “polytrauma, internal and external hemorrhage,” according to the National Prosecutor’s Office of Argentina.
Is “pink cocaine” dangerous?
Yeah.
As a street drug, “there is no way to know exactly what is in it,” says WebMD, noting that there are concerns that some batches may include fentanyl, the powerful opioid responsible for many overdose deaths.
“The drug market is more dangerous than ever,” New York special narcotics prosecutor Bridget Brennan told NBC News in August, after “pink cocaine,” widely used in clubs and parties, was mentioned in a lawsuit against rapper Sean Diddy Combs.
Brennan warned that “you absolutely cannot trust them to sell you the product you ordered.”
