Ketamine

Ketamine  (Ketamine Hydrochloride)

Street names

K, special K, vitamin K, super K, Green

General Info

Ketamine is a powerful anaesthetic drug which has been used for operations on humans and animals. It is hallucinogenic. Ketamine is usually a grainy white powder which can be snorted but may also be obtained in tablet form or can be injected. If snorted a razor blade may be used on a hard level surface e.g. a mirror with the chopped powder being snorted up a paper tube or rolled banknote. Ketamine is a prescription only drug. Ketamine has emerged as a mainstream club drug in recent years and has been marketed as a ‘quick fun high’.

Effects:

• Effects take place after 15-30 minutes and users can trip for up to 3 hours
• Ketamine has painkilling effects but also alters perception
• Users feel detached from themselves and others around them
• Ketamine creates ‘out of body’ and hallucinatory experiences followed by numbness and strange muscle movements
• It’s use can cause nausea and vomiting
• Ketamine often gives feelings of increased energy and euphoria
• Users during the effects may be physically unable to move
• Like LSD, the effects of Ketamine are influenced by the user’s mood and environment.

Risks:

• Ketamine users can experience blurred vision and difficulty in moving and speaking
• As users don’t feel any pain they risk injury
• Large doses can lead to breathing difficulties an even heart failure
• This drug is even more dangerous when mixed with other drugs or alcohol
• Ketamine causes panic attacks and depression and in large doses it can exaggerate pre- existing mental health problems
• Tablets are sometimes passed off as Ecstasy
• Bladder Syndrome can develop which affects the lining of the bladder
• Death – very often as a result of loss of coordination / control e.g. jumping from heights, road traffic accidents and drowning
• Ketamine has a short shelf life therefore sequential dosing occurs, thereby increasing related risks.

Class

Class B