What Is Ketamine
Ketamine is a drug that has dissociative anesthetic properties. It is most often found as a white to slightly off-white powder or an odorless, colorless liquid. It is a very quick acting substance with a very similar structure and action as PCP, although it is slightly less potent than PCP pas an anesthetic.
Street names for ketamine include K, Special K, jet, Green, Super Acid, Honey Oil, Ket, and Special la coke.
Effects of Ketamine
While it has legitimate uses for both animal and humans, it is also known to be abused because of its hallucinogenic properties. However, at higher does it is no longer used just as an anesthetic but can cause more severe effects such as changes in body image and mood as well as hallucinations.
Immediate effects of ketamine include sensory distortion, out of body experiences, lack of sense of time, aggressive behavior memory problems, and numbness.
Ketamine use has also been correlated to many mental and physical problems such as depression, amnesia, delirium, impaired motor function, hypertension, and respiratory problems.
Ketamine Abuse
As a “club drug,” ketamine is often abused by teens and young adults in order to distort sensory perception and create a sense of disconnect from the body. While other club drugs such as PCP or LSD have much longer effects, the effects of ketamine typically lasts between 30 to 90 minutes.
Because of its properties as an anesthetic, ketamine is often used by sexual predators to as a date rape drug to incapacitate a potential victim. Often victims are aware of the actions around them, but are not able to move or respond accordingly.
Teens and young adults ages 12 to 25 were responsible for 74% of ketamine abuse that resulted in involvement of an emergency department. Approximately 3% of high school students have tried Ketamine at last once.
Ketamine and the Law
Ketamine is considered a Schedule III controlled substance according to the Controlled Substance Act. Other Schedule III drugs include anabolic steroids. While Schedule III drugs are not as addictive as other drugs such as heroin or cocaine, Ketamine abuse can still lead to a level of psychological or physical dependence.
