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At low doses, K is a mild if weird stimulant. At
medium to high doses, it becomes a very powerful paralysing psychedelic.
It effects are like a combination of cocaine, cannabis, opium, Nitrous
Oxide, and alcohol.
When Ketamine separates or dissociates the mind from
the body, the brain is freed from the usual business of reacting
to sensations from the body. Perception increases to fill the gap
vacated by the senses and gives rise to Ketamine's more mind-expanding
effects.
onset
The K effect is very rapid. In 10-20 minutes
you may find yourself hardly able to move and, at higher doses,
even approaching out-of-body and near-death experiences.
peak
At the height of the experience, you may experience
dazzling insights, hallucinate and even feel yourself communicating
with forces, entities and elements you were never conscious of before.
Users often fall into a deep trance state. Their eyes
may move sightlessly from side and side, and their bodies may assume
bizarre postures.
Try to tell someone about it and
you're likely to mumble monosyllabic and nonsensical inanities.
Some people find it a life-changing
and even spiritual experience. Others
find it a lonely and unemotional experience. Whatever you make of
it - it's intense.
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comedown
A Ketamine trip usually only lasts between 45 and 90 minutes, regardless
of dosage. The experience can be much shorter if you have high tolerance.
The effects wear off very rapidly
after effects
If you've ever had an operation under anaesthetic,
you'll recognise that lousy post-operative feeling after a strong
Ketamine trip. There are few other after-effects other than this general
drowsiness.
You might feel wiped out, a bit achy, and not
ready for anything too loud or too complicated. Sometimes you may
feel rather disorientated or even a bit shell-shocked, as Ketamine
is a very extreme experience at higher doses. Many people feel energized
after a Ketamine experience and have a strong urge to move around,
dance or stretch.
Long term, some users can be so overcome by what they
regard as the superior reality of Ketamine-land that they can retreat
from the real world into the K-world. We're not kidding.
See Tales
From The K-Hole.
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setting
At high doses, because its effect is essentially
an internal and introspective experience, external stimuli like
loud music or TV are not particularly satisfying, nor conducive
to a good trip.
This is not the case at low level doses, when
it acts more like a stimulant.
in the brain
Ketamine's effects on the brain are well documented.
It mainly binds to and blocks glutamate receptors (also as N-P receptors)
all over the brain. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter.
It turns on cell activity and is part of the computer-like on /
off mechanism that underlies brain activity.
Ketamine blocks glutamate activity, giving rise
to either entire cell bank shutdown in some brain areas or changes
in the way cell clusters integrate or interpret incoming data in
others. Overall, the result is the much famed K-Hole effect: certain
brain parts go into temporary hibernation, mainly the senses and
physical sensations, while others - imagination, and other unnamed
perceptions from the depths of the mind - are amplified.(1)
1.
Ketamine: Dreams
& Realities p.114-6
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