After chart-topping death

Stardrug “Pink Cocaine” on the rise here?

Liam Payne died after a drug party in an Argentinian hotel room.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Viennareport, www.photopress.at)

Drug cocktail "made in the USA" - the death of ex-One Direction singer Liam Payne clearly shows the dangers of various substances. Martin Busch from Gesundheit Österreich's Competence Center for Addiction explains the background to the dangerous designer drug in an interview with Krone.

The shock following the death of former One Direction singer Liam Payne is still deeply felt by fans around the world. As reported, the British pop star fell to his death from the balcony of a hotel in the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. Initial toxicology tests have revealed that the One Direction star had taken several different drugs before his death. Including the so-called pink cocaine.

P. Diddy is said to have invented the hype
This is a drug cocktail - a mix of methamphetamine, ketamine and MDMA, among other things. The popular "pink cocaine" also appears frequently in the indictments against the fallen hip-hop mogul "P. Diddy" Sean Combs. Record producer Rodney "Lil Rod" Jones accused the man in custody of drugging, sexually harassing and threatening him while under the influence of the new stardrug.

What's more, according to various US media reports, a retired employee of the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) described the cocktail as a "cheap party drug". In New York City, the drug was primarily associated with P. Diddy in the drug scene. Narcotics officers in New York revealed behind closed doors that the narcotic cocktail was called the "Diddy drug" by users.

This designer drug is more likely to have psychedelic effects like LSD. Just a few milligrams can have a strong effect.

Suchtgift-Experte Martin Busch

Bild: APA/Georg Hochmuth

Funeral of Liam Payne this week
According to the Argentinian newspaper "La Nation", the released body of British singer Liam Payne will now be transferred to the UK. All the necessary documents should be ready. Meanwhile, the English newspaper "The Sun" has already written that the funeral service for the 31-year-old pop star is to take place at St. Paul's Church in Wolverhampton, the dead man's home town.

Martin Busch, head of the Addiction Competence Center at Gesundheit Österreich GmbH, is familiar with the dangerous substance that was involved in the 31-year-old Brit's death - "pink cocaine" is no longer a rarity, especially in show business and nightlife, even in Austria.

"Krone": What is "pink cocaine"?
Martin Busch: It has nothing to do with cocaine. It is the designer drug 2C-B, which is more of a psychedelic drug like LSD. 2C-B is highly dose-dependent. Just a few milligrams can have a strong effect.

Cocaine and other drugs are in the fast lane throughout Europe. Which addictive drugs are the biggest problem in Austria?
If you look at drug-related deaths, opioids are still the most common, accounting for around 90 percent of all deaths. This means that there is usually a mix of legal and illegal substances. Overall, Austria is following the trend in that cocaine, which has also become cheaper and more pure in recent years, is being used more frequently. This can be seen in wastewater epidemiological studies, in reports, in population surveys, in drug checking and in calls to the poisoning information center.

Is there a concrete figure for this?
This is now also reflected in the treatment system, where cocaine was the leading drug in around 20 percent of initial treatments in 2023. Nevertheless, mixed use involving opioids remains by far the biggest problem in the illicit drug sector.