“A rudimentary preparation”, which they call Tusi and which among its components has ketamine bases, a sedative for horses, Mdma, which is a synthetic drug, and caffeine, which, comes in a powder presentation, has been used for more than ten years at different parties in Colombia and is consumed by people between the ages of 18 and 34, according to information from the Échele Cabeza project.
However, in an analysis of substances carried out by the same firm, it was evidenced that the so-called “substance cocktail” that has been commercialized in our country, does not have the bases of the components of tusi, but that, in addition to those already mentioned, compounds such as benzodiazepine, oxycodone, morphine and methamphetamine are mixed. This lethal combination would be producing consequences that are yet to be determined in consumers.
In Échele Cabeza, the warning was made that the mixture of all these components in the body, added to the consumption of alcohol at a party, “increases the probability of cardiorespiratory pressures or states of vulnerability that set off alarms”, from the authorities and in health care centers throughout the country.
For Daniel Rojas, psychologist of the ‘Échele Cabeza’ project: “The alarms are going off again because there has been an increase in medical and psychiatric emergencies, where it is being presented or people report that, at some point in the crisis, the Tusi is involved”.
Likewise, Dr. Gabriel Oviedo, director of the Department of Psychiatry and Mental Health Universidad Javeriana and head of the Mental Health Unit Hospital San Ignacio, affirms that: “Although we do not have parameterized figures, the addiction units in the country are increasingly occupied, mainly by young people”.
The alert issued by the Échele Cabeza project also focuses on the fact that the “prepared cocktail” in the country contains substances in proportions that are determined by the person who makes it. This situation would be hindering “damage reduction actions because the person cannot determine what the effects are going to be, the consequences are also unpredictable,” said the specialist.
The monitoring that has been carried out on the so-called tusi in Colombia indicates that there would be no reports of studies on the use of the substance, which is why there would be no way to track and identify the substance, according to Échele Cabeza. That is why they emphasize that there is a need to investigate and determine the implications that this substance may have for health and ask the respective authorities to urgently analyze this drug.
According to Julián Quintero, director of the Corporación Acción Técnica Social and of the Échele Cabeza project, he affirms that in the country “two important opportunities have been lost to start monitoring the consumption of Tusi and, thus, create prevention measures that lead to knowing, with certainty, what prevention measures should be taken.”
The specialists, Gabriel Oviedo and Julián Quintero, agree that the ideal is for the country to build a public health strategy that makes it possible to understand the full context of drug use and then deal with it head on. According to them, this would be the only way in which mitigation could be done for those who will surely continue to consume.
According to the above, different strategies can be evidenced. Among them is education. Oviedo assures that “exact information on the components of the substance and its effects are a first step for consumers to understand what they are dealing with.” This would also lead to promoting the “safe and informed use” of this substance, which would lead to consumers taking moderate doses of Tusi, in order to manage its effects. However, to the above is added the fact that this substance should not be mixed with other psychoactive substances, alcohol, medicines or other drugs, since this combination could trigger unexpected and dangerous consequences.
The experts also indicate that a preventive public health program could be managed in which the effects of an overdose would be reported so that consumers recognize them and act in case of an emergency; Likewise, work must be done to strengthen different psychoactive substance testing programs that guarantee that the substance they are going to consume is free of alterations, or that they can have access to other opioids that have more controlled effects.
Finally, Oviedo emphasizes that it is important to: “Provide support and counseling services to help users address underlying problems that may be contributing to their Tusi use.” with Infobae