El tusi, the drug of fashion in Colombia's festivals

The model and influencer Mara Cifuentes, a few days ago, published through her Instagram that she is addicted to “tusi”, and that this led to a detox treatment. “Well guys, to express myself, it's like therapy for me and this helps me because really expressing myself in front of this cell phone, saying what happens to me and telling what happens to me helps me with the pressure,” he posted in his stories.

Personalities like her and many others have spoken openly about tusi. 2C-B belongs to the same phenylethylamine family, which is very similar to amphetamines and has a psychedelic effect. Drugs such as ecstasy and LSD are also part of this family, so their effects are similar.

Journalist María Fernanda Fitzgerald, explained in Cambio Colombia what 2C-B is and how 2C-B became an ingredient of the parties in Colombia:

The journalist says that one gram of cocaine, currently, can cost between 30 and 50 thousand pesos, while the gram of tusi costs between 40 and 50 thousand pesos, which makes it much more attractive considering that for consumers, “pink powder”, has better and more lasting effects than “parakeet”.

The director of the Social Technical Action Corporation (ATS), Julian Quintero, assured El Tiempo that the samples found in Colombia do not exceed 20% of 2-CB, the rest are adulterants. Although in few quantities tusi has an effect, but mixing it with other components makes the effects or sensations in the body stronger, which means that it is more harmful to health.

In fact, Lieutenant Mauricio Ocampo, in charge of the drug research laboratory of the Anti-Narcotics Directorate, told Cambio that, in the tests analyzed by this agency's laboratory, they have determined that 2C-B is not marketed in Colombia: “The real substance is not found. The falsification and alteration that is made of this compound with Ketamine”.

David Nutt, director of the Independent Scientific Committee on Drugs, in conjunction with the medical journal The Lancet, published a list of the drugs most harmful to both the individual and society. The research studied 20 psychoactive substances and substances of abuse; compared their effects on both the individual and society. According to the study, the drugs most harmful to the individual are heroin, crack and methamphetamine. While those that cause the most social harm are alcohol, heroin and crack.

Nutt told the BBC that: “If substances of abuse were classified on the basis of combined harm, alcohol would be a “Class A” drug, like heroin and crack.”

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