If you have not yet heard of Ketamine, chances are you soon will. Whether you are a young person or a parent, you need to be aware of this increasingly popular – and potentially deadly – club drug. One of the hidden dangers of Ketamine is that it has a legitimate use. That can make it even more difficult for law enforcement to fight. Veterinarians use Ketamine as an anesthetic in veterinary medicine. Many of them routinely stock it. That has made veterinary practices the subjects of thefts and break-ins. Drug dealers and users try to get their hands on the drug any way they can.
Street Names for Ketamine
This powerful anesthetic goes by many street names, so parents should keep their ears open for the jargon.
Some of the many street names of Ketamine include:
- Special K
- Kit Kat
- Purple
- Super C
- Super K
- Vitamin K
To make matters worse, another of the dangers of Ketamine is that dealers sometimes sell it as Ecstasy, another popular street drug. Many young people purchase what they think is Ecstasy and receive Ketamine instead. This often ends with tragic results. Also, dealers often mix Ketamine with other popular street and club drugs, including ephedrine and caffeine. The results of these combinations can be even more unpredictable, making the dangers of Ketamine multiply.
Dangers of Ketamine Show in the Effects
Ketamine introduces a dissociative state that can be extremely frightening and disconcerting. Users of the drug even have a unique name for this effect. They call it falling into the K-hole. Users describe these effects as a complete sensory detachment and loss of reality. Many users describe bad Ketamine trips as near-death experiences, with all the frightening experiences that term can entail.
The effects of Ketamine can vary quite widely from one user to another, and that can make it even more unpredictable and dangerous. Large doses of the drug can cause seizures, respiratory arrest, coma, and even death. Ketamine doses as low as a single gram can cause death, and it is all too easy for even first time users to get a fatal dose.
Silent Doses of Ketamine
Taking Ketamine deliberately is bad enough, but parents and teens also need to be aware of the problem of silent dosing with the drug. Since Ketamine is colorless and odorless, it is all too easy for those with ill intentions to slip it into a young person’s drink without it being detected. That makes Ketamine useful as a date rape drug. In fact, there have been many confirmed reports of it being used for that purpose. The dissociative state that Ketamine induces makes it very powerful as a date rape drug, and young people attending parties, raves and other events need to be especially careful about accepting drinks from strangers.
Long-Term Use of Ketamine
Like PCP, Ketamine can also cause an exaggerated sense of strength. Many Ketamine users have picked fights, and even attacked cops, while on the drug. Long-term use of the drug can also cause brain damage, memory impairment, and a loss of motor skills. Personality and mood disorders have also been reported in Ketamine users, and some of the adverse effects appear to be permanent. Short-term psychosis has been reported with Ketamine use as well, leading to unpredictable and hazardous behavior.
It is up to every parent to be aware of the dangers of Ketamine, and it is up to every young person to avoid this dangerous drug. Parents should be on the lookout for changes in behavior that could indicate a problem with Ketamine and other club drugs. Preventing the teen in your life from experimenting with Ketamine can mean the difference between life and death.
- drugabuse.gov – What are Date Rape Drugs and How Do You Avoid Them?
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