A rough guide to drugs
Legal Status Class C: Ketamine carries penalties for possession of up to 2 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. Supply/trafficking can carry penalties of up to 14 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine.. |
...is a strong anaesthetic drug which is used for operations on both people and animals. It’s only recently started to be used in clubs and therefore not as much is known about the long-term effects of ketamine as many other drugs.
Legally produced ketamine comes in liquid form which is injected. The illegally produced version usually comes as a grainy white powder which is snorted or bought as a tablet.
Effects & Risks
• Ketamine can cause perceptual changes like LSD, in addition to its effects on reducing bodily sensation. Users can trip for up to an hour and may feel after-effects for some hours.
• It can give the user an ‘out of body’ experience.
• In some cases, users may be physically incapable of moving while under the influence.
• Because you don’t feel any pain when you’re on ketamine, you can be in danger of causing injury to yourself without realising it.
• High doses, especially with other depressant drugs like alcohol, can dangerously affect breathing and heart function.
• Injecting ketamine carries all the same health risks as injecting any substance: abscesses, swelling, blood clots, vein damage, ulcers and gangrene – also, sharing injecting equipment increases the risk of HIV and Hepatitis.
• It can cause panic attacks, depression and in large doses can exaggerate pre-existing mental health problems such as schizophrenia.
Overdose
If high enough doses are taken, the anaesthetic effect can result in death from inhaling vomit.
Addiction
Not as much is known about ketamine as many other drugs. Tolerance can develop quickly, meaning that more of the drug is needed to achieve the same effect.
