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Ketamine
 WHAT
IS KETAMINE?
- Ketamine
hydrochloride ("Special K" or "K") was originally
created for use as a human anaesthetic, and is still used as a
general anaesthetic for children, persons of poor health, and
in veterinary medicine.
- Ketamine
belongs to a class of drugs called "dissociative anaesthetics,"
which separate perception from sensation. Other drugs in this
category include PCP, DXM and nitrous oxide (laughing gas).
- Ketamine
usually comes as a liquid in small pharmaceutical bottles, and
is most often cooked into a white powder for snorting.
WHAT
ARE THE EFFECTS?
- At
lower doses it has a mild, dreamy feeling similar to nitrous oxide.
Users report feeling floaty and slightly outside their body. Numbness
in the extremities is also common.
- Higher
doses produce a hallucinogenic (trippy) effect, and may cause
the user to feel very far away from their body.
- This
experience is often referred to as entering a "K-hole"
and has been compared to a near death experience with sensations
of rising above one's body. Many users find the experience spiritually
significant , while others find it frightening.
- While
in a K-hole it is very difficult to move. People usually remain
seated or lying down during the experience.
WHAT IS THE DOSAGE?
- Most
people snort small lines or "bumps" for a mild, dreamy
effect. The effect comes on within about 5 to 10 minutes.
- 100mg
is usually enough to enter a K-hole.
- If
liquid is injected into the muscle, less is needed to enter a
K-hole. Effects can be felt within four minutes. (Ketamine is
never injected into the vein).
- If
swallowed, the effects come on in 10 - 20 minutes.
- Some
people become nauseous after taking ketamine.
- Occasionally
ketamine has been sold in a capsule as "Ecstasy," although
it is nothing like MDMA (real ecstasy). An ecstasy testing kit
can be used to screen against fake ecstasy tablets.
BE
CAREFUL.
- While
low doses of Ketamine can increase heart-rate, at higher doses
it depresses consciousness and breathing and is extremely dangerous
to combine with downers like alcohol, Valium or GHB.
- Frequent
use can cause disruptions in consciousness and lead to neuroses
or other mental disorders.
- Ketamine
can cause a tremendous psychological dependence. The dissociation
from one's consciousness experienced with ketamine can be highly
seductive to some people, and there are many cases of ketamine
addiction.
- Ketamine
is illegal and possession can result in long
prison terms.
OVERDOSE
- If
you suspect you or a friend has overdosed, GET HELP. Call 511
on campus or 911 off campus.
- No
student seeking medical treatment for themselves or a friend for
an alcohol or other drug-related overdose will be subject to University
discipline for the sole violation of using or possessing alcohol
or drugs. (Penn's
Medical Amnesty Policy)
This
information taken from Dancesafe.org
and PartySafe.org
*The
Office of Health Education does not encourage or condone the use
of any illegial drug.
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