The drug is growing in popularity, sold online in custom baggies and is referenced regularly on social media by enthusiasts and musicians. Catch up quick: Authorities from Los Angeles to Miami in recent months have reported busts or issued strong warnings involving pink cocaine, also known as tuci or tusi. In 2025, New York investigators seized pink cocaine along with dozens of guns in a Tren de Aragua-linked trafficking case.
The hidden cost behind newly cleaned streets is an increase in health risks. People lose vital medical devices-wheelchairs, canes, and oxygen tanks. Many end up farther from the clinics and treatment programs they rely on. That can mean missed appointments, lapsed prescriptions, or untreated wounds - crises that drive people to the emergency room. For people using illicit drugs, it can mean losing contact with street medicine teams-or using alone, which is especially dangerous when trusted friends aren't nearby to administer Narcan.