Is tusi the same as 2C-B?
This version has been translated from Polish and links to the relevant test kits have been added. In a life-threatening situation call 112. This article is informational and serves harm reduction. It does not encourage the use of psychoactive substances and does not replace medical advice.
Usually it is not, and the name is the problem. "Tusi" comes from the Spanish pronunciation of 2C-B, so the word promises one compound while the pink powder sold under it is usually a mixture of others. Ketamine, MDMA, caffeine and a colouring are the common recipe, and 2C-B is frequently absent altogether. If you want 2C-B, the name on the bag is the least reliable thing about it.
What tusi is · Single-use 2C-B test, 3.65 EUR
What is in real 2C-B samples
European services have published 229 samples submitted as 2C-B, and 42% of them contained something besides 2C-B.
| Detected alongside 2C-B | Samples |
|---|---|
| MDMA | 39 |
| Unknown | 24 |
| 2C-H | 22 |
| Caffeine | 17 |
| Ketamine | 16 |
| Synthesis impurity | 7 |
| Amphetamine | 4 |
2C-H is the interesting row. It is the precursor 2C-B is made from, so finding it means the synthesis was not taken to completion or was not cleaned up afterwards, and 22 samples in 229 is a lot of sloppy chemistry. MDMA at 39 and ketamine at 16 are the tusi recipe showing up in samples people submitted as plain 2C-B, which is the point worth taking away: four in ten samples that people believed were 2C-B carried something else, and every one of those results came from a laboratory rather than from looking at the powder.
Testing a pink powder
The problem with tusi is that it is a mixture, and reagents are poor at mixtures because the loudest compound wins. Marquis, mecke and robadope identify 2C-B; simon's separates MDMA and methamphetamine; and morris reads ketamine and cathinones better than mecke does, which is why our tusi kit swaps one for the other. What a reagent will not do is tell you the proportions, and with a three or four compound blend the proportions are the whole risk.
Single-use 2C-B test, 3.65 EUR · Tuci identification kit, 28.97 EUR · MDMA and cuts kit, 28.97 EUR · How to test 2C-B
If it is a mixture, use TLC
A TLC plate separates the powder into its components and shows each one as a spot, which is the only way at home to see that your pink powder is three things rather than one, and roughly in what proportion. For tusi specifically that is the difference between a useful answer and a colour that means nothing.
TLC purity kit, 84.95 EUR · How a TLC test works
Questions?
Why is tusi pink?
Food colouring, usually strawberry flavouring too. The colour is cosmetic and tells you nothing about the contents.
Does tusi contain cocaine?
Despite "pink cocaine" as a nickname, usually not. Ketamine and MDMA are the common base.
Can a reagent prove my sample is 2C-B?
It can indicate 2C-B is present. In a mixture it will often show you only the strongest reacting compound, which is why TLC matters here more than usual.
What is 2C-H?
The precursor 2C-B is synthesised from. Finding it indicates an incomplete or poorly purified synthesis.