An initial toxicology report revealed that former One Direction singer Liam Payne reportedly had multiple drugs in his system, including “pink cocaine,” when he fell to his death from a hotel balcony in the Argentine capital Buenos Aires.

Here’s what you should know about the drug cocktail.

What is pink cocaine?

Pink cocaine is typically a powdered mixture of ketamine and illicit substances such as methamphetamine, MDMA (also called molly or ecstasy), opioids or new psychoactive substances, according to a study published last year in the American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. According to the National Capital Poison Center (NCPC), the drug cocktail may also contain caffeine.

Despite its name, the recreational drug may contain no cocaine at all and gets its color from food coloring. And although it is also called Tusi, Tusibi, Tuci or Tucibi, experts say it rarely contains the psychedelic drug 2C-B, which was invented in 1974 by California chemist Alexander “Sasha” Shulgin and his wife Ann, part of a 2C family. was developed by drugs related to methamphetamine.

The anesthetic ketamine appears to be the active ingredient most commonly found in “pink cocaine.”

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says a ketamine-based drug mixture is also available in liquid doses known as “Happy Water” and “K-Powdered Milk.” These and other drugs related to “pink cocaine” are popular in Latin America and Thailand, according to a 2022 update paper on synthetic drug use.

The UN update paper warned: “High doses of ketamine used outside a medical context can cause cardiovascular and respiratory toxicity as well as other side effects such as bladder problems, anxiety, panic attacks, heart palpitations, tachycardia, chest pain, depression and exacerbation of symptoms.” existing mental health problems, slurred speech and the inability to speak.”

How does pink cocaine affect someone?

It can be difficult to determine how the drug cocktail may affect someone after taking it. Bridget Brennan, New York’s special narcotics prosecutor, said that’s because pink cocaine is mixed with illegal narcotics and a person’s reaction to street drugs is often different.

“First of all, you don’t know what substance it is, but secondly, not all people react to medication in the same way,” she said. “This stuff is not made under pharmaceutical conditions, there is no certainty about it. It sucks every time you do street drugs.”

Possible side effects vary but may include anxiety, hallucinations, nausea and vomiting, increased heart rate and blood pressure, and increased body temperature, the NCPC said. According to the NCPC, physical and sexual assault and traumatic injuries occur when people are impaired by the drug.

Shortly before Payne’s death, a hotel receptionist called 911 and reported that a distraught guest who was under the influence of alcohol and drugs was “destroying the whole room.” According to an audio recording obtained by Telemundo from local media, the caller said that the guest was “in a room with a balcony, and we’re a little afraid that he might do something life-threatening.”

Argentina’s emergency medical service Sistema de Atencion Medica de Emergencia (SAME) confirmed to Telemundo that Payne fell from the balcony of his room on the third floor of the CasaSur Palermo Hotel. Payne, 31, was found dead a few minutes after the emergency call, SAME director Alberto Crescenti told the Argentine television station Todo Noticias TV.

An autopsy revealed that the singer had 25 injuries “consistent with those of a fall from height” and that his cause of death was “polytraumatism, internal and external bleeding,” according to Argentine prosecutors.

Is pink cocaine dangerous?

Yes.

Brennan said pink cocaine can be “very dangerous” because it is typically a mix of depressants and stimulants.

“I think the most dangerous thing about it is that you typically see stimulants, which can be methamphetamine or cocaine, mixed with other substances like ketamine, which have a sedating effect, meaning they have the opposite effect on the body.” , she said. “If you take a drug that speeds up your heartbeat and another drug that slows your heartbeat, that’s a problem.”

The American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse’s abstract of the pink cocaine study says the drug cocktail “complicates” the recreational drug landscape.

“It has the potential to confuse both people who use it and researchers,” it said. “People who use it may think the drug is 2C/2C-B, and they may also be unaware that the mixture tends to consist of ketamine and a variety of other drugs.”

In an interview with NBC News in August, Brennan warned that people “absolutely cannot trust your retailer to sell you the product you asked for.”

“The drug market is now more dangerous than ever,” she said after a lawsuit against music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs mentioned pink cocaine, which is commonly used in club and party scenes.