Ketamine Abuse

Like the horse tranquilizer PCP (also known as Angel Dust), ketamine is a disassociative anesthetic with painkilling and psychedelic properties.  Used by veterinarians when they operate on dogs and cats, ketamine comes as tablets or as a powder which is snorted up the nose. A prescription-only medicine, ketamine is known in the club scene as Captain K or Special K. When used, ketamine provides an otherworldly experience where you became both puppet and puppet master. Disassociated from the body, the user has the experience of being speeded up while feeling perfectly calm at the same time. Sometimes a user may become physically unable to move, known in drug slang as falling down the K-Hole.

As ketamine numbs the body, the user risks having an injury without feeling the resulting pain. If the dose is unexpected, the effects can be quite alarming, creating a bad trip-like experience. Although not physically addictive, ketamine effects amplify as the amount increases. Excessive doses can cause respiratory problems and heart failure while users have convulsed and gone into a coma. Like GHB, ketamine is very dangerous when mixed with other drugs or alcohol, and the resulting effects are difficult to predict. The long-term effects of ketamine remain unknown, although serious mental problems have been seen to occur and worsen through periods of extended using.