Forms and Appearance
Ketamine is a white crystalline powder which is soluble in water and alcohol. It appears on the street as a white scored tablet. Ketamine can be sold as another drug such as ecstasy.
Medical and Other Uses
Ketamine is a short-acting general anaesthetic which is used for short surgical operations.
Effects of Use
During recovery from the anaesthesia, patients may experience:
- nausea,
- vomiting,
- increased blood pressure,
- hallucinations,
- headaches,
- irrational behaviour.
Non-medical users inject or sniff doses small enough to stay conscious. The main effects they want are:
- euphoria,
- hallucinations,
- pleasant sensations of floating and stimulation.
Negative effects include:
- dizziness,
- uncoordination,
- slurred speech and confusion.
- severe episodes (‘bad trips’) sometimes occur.
The main dangerous effect of high doses is depressed breathing.
Tolerance and Dependence
There has been little research on the long-term use of ketamine. Thus, it is not known if tolerance or dependence develops. However, a number of regular users have ‘flashbacks’ to hallucinations they had when taking the drug.