Addiction Specialist Explains ‘Pink Cocaine’ After Liam Payne’s Death: ‘Nothing to Do with Cocaine’

Liam Payne reportedly had “pink cocaine” and other drugs in his system when he died on October 16 — but what exactly is the substance?

“Pink Cocaine is not cocaine, not at all,” addiction specialist Richard Taite exclusively told Us Weekly on Monday, October 21. “It is mixed with something.”

Taite, who is the founder and chairman at Carrara Luxury Rehab & Addiction Treatment Center in California, noted that pink cocaine is comparable to MDMA or ecstasy or Molly “but with psychedelic effects.”

Consuming pink cocaine is like “taking MDMA, ecstasy and acid,” according to Taite, who explained that it has a pink hue, hence the name.

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“Pink cocaine has nothing to do with cocaine. It’s a synthetic psychedelic drug,” Taite reiterated, noting it is usually in powder form and has “hallucinogenic effects.”

Us confirmed on Wednesday, October 16, that Payne died after a fall from a third-story hotel balcony while in Argentina. He was 31.

Police officers responded to a 911 call about an “aggressive man who could be under the influence of drugs or alcohol” prior to Payne’s fall. When the Buenos Aires emergency services arrived on scene the former One Direction singer was on the ground and beyond saving.

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“Our role was to head there quickly, give medical attention, and try to resuscitate him, but his injuries were incompatible with life,” Buenos Aires emergency services chief Alberto Crescenti said in a statement at the time, according to La Nacion. “Based on what the team saw, there was apparently a cranial fracture and extremely serious injuries that led to his immediate death.”

Payne’s preliminary autopsy report stated that he died from multiple injuries involving “internal and external hemorrhage.”

The Forensic Medical Corps doctors documented 25 injuries, including “cranioencephalic injuries [that] were severe enough to cause death,” per documents obtained by Us. The officials also noted that hemorrhages in Payne’s skull, chest, abdomen and limbs “contributed to the mechanism of death.”

Payne’s death is under investigation after the City Police’s Mobile Criminalistics Unit found what “appeared to be narcotics and alcoholic beverages” inside his hotel room, according to a report obtained by Us.

On Monday, ABC published a partial autopsy report that showed Payne had pink cocaine, cocaine, benzodiazepine and crack in his system when he died. There was reportedly an aluminum pipe found in his hotel room as well.

Taite told Us on Monday that pink cocaine is becoming a popular drug on the streets along with ketamine and fentanyl. “It is very addicting, but not as addicting as fentanyl,” he said. “The problem is when they mix the pink cocaine with fentanyl … that is very addictive.”

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Taite noted that in the case of Payne’s death, the effects of pink cocaine being combined with other addictive substances could have led to an overdose prior to his fall.

“Just because he didn’t pass out, doesn’t mean he didn’t overdose, because when you fall out of a window because you’re so inebriated and you die, that’s an overdose,” he claimed. “Because but [if not] for the drugs ingested, he wouldn’t have fallen out that window.”

Us previously confirmed that the prosecutor’s office “indicated that, based on the position in which the body was found and the injuries from the fall, it is presumed that Payne did not adopt a reflexive posture to protect himself and may have fallen in a state of semi or total unconsciousness.” The drugs he consumed could account for his inability to break his fall.

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Prior to his death, Payne struggled with drugs and alcohol, revealing in a 2021 episode of “Diary of a CEO” he had a “problem” with “pills and booze” during his early days in One Direction.

Payne is survived by his son, Bear, 7, whom he shares with ex-girlfriend Cheryl Cole, and his parents, Geoff and Karen Payne, as well as sisters Ruth and Nicola.

If you or someone you know is struggling with substance abuse, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

 With reporting by Sarah Jones and Andrea Simpson