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» So Ketamine is a legal high then?
» I heard that Ketamine is just an animal tranquiliser
withdrawn from use on people. Isn't that a sign that it's dangerous?
» Is Ketamine just another name for Angel Dust (PCP)?
» Is Ketamine addictive?
» Is it true that some ecstasy pills are really just
K?
» Can you smoke Ketamine?
» Is it easy to overdose or die taking Ketamine?
» Can regular use hurt me?
» Will Ketamine show up on a urine drugs test?
» How can an anaesthetic be so psychedelic?
» Is it true that you can only get the full Ketamin
trip by injecting it rather than snorting it?
» What is the 'K-hole'?
» ask
us a question
» So Ketamine is a legal
high then?
Not exactly. You can't buy it over the counter or just
go and ask your doctor for a prescription. Ketamine is restricted to use
in hospitals by the Medicines Act as a prescription only medicine.
Unauthorised supply is illegal and if you are apprehended
by the British police with a wrap of 'Special K' powder you will have
some explaining to do. Although it is not a controlled substance under
the Misuse Of Drugs Act, under the Medicines Act you may be fined and
even imprisoned if you have a sufficiently large amount of the drug that
you are deemed to be supplying.
In the US, Ketamine is a schedule III drug. Possession and
supply is illegal without prescription.
If you know the legal status of Ketamine in your country
please email
us with the details and source of the information.
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» I heard that Ketamine
is just an animal tranquiliser withdrawn from use on people. Isn't that
a sign that it's dangerous?
Ketamine is not a tranquilliser. Ketamine
is used in hospitals all around the world 'for the induction and maintenance
of anaesthesia.' It's recommended for us on children and geriatrics because
it is very safe and gentle anaesthetic. However, all anaesthetics are
very powerful and potentially dangerous drugs, and using them recreationally
is a whole different ball-game.
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» Is Ketamine just another
name for Angel Dust (PCP)?
Ketamine is very similar in its chemical make-up to
PCP (Phencyclidine) but is shorter acting and less toxic. Both drugs were
patented by the same pharmaceutical giant, Parke-Davis, for use as general
anaesthetics.
PCP stopped being used with people because of unpredictable
side-effects, including psychotic behaviour. Legal production of PCP has
since been discontinued. Ketamine has no history of producing such psychotic
side-effects.
» Is Ketamine addictive?
Ketamine does not appear to be physically addictive,
but recent research and anecdotal reports do point to Ketamine being extremely
habit-forming, especially for injecting users. See our section on addiction
& tolerance for more details.
» Is it true that some ecstasy
pills are really just K?
This is indeed true. Although Ketamine is very different
from Ecstasy, at low doses taken orally and combined with a stimulant
like ephedrine it can approximate some kind of trippy euphoria.
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» Can you smoke Ketamine?
Smoking powdered Ketamine in a joint is not especially
pleasant and will not noticeably speed up the onset of the Ketamine effect.
» Is it easy to overdose
or die taking Ketamine?
Ketamine deaths are extremely rare. You will pass out
long before you could administer a lethal dose (4.5 grams and above).
However Ketamine is a powerful hallucinogen and large doses are not recommended
for newcomers to psychedelic experiences.
» Can regular use hurt me?
Ketamine is relative safe drug compared to other recreational
substances. It has been used in medicine all over the world for over 20
years and its pharmcological, short term and long term effects are well
known. But like any mind-altering drug, heavy and prolonged use of Ketamine
can at the very worst destroy any sense of what is real and leave you
uninterested in the relatively mundane, everyday world. Letting any drug
take over your life is extremely dangerous.
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» Will Ketamine show up on a urine drugs
test?
Highly unlikely. Ketamine is not one of the substances
tested for in drug tests. For more information on drugtest see our guide
here
» How can an anaesthetic
be so psychedelic?
This is down to the way that Ketamine works on the
brain. As it disconnects your brain from your body, the mind takes over
with its imagination. Ketamine has been compared to a waking dream. Enthusiasts
claim that when you no longer have the interference of every day bodily
sensations, you open up unused senses and spiritual insights. You can
find some detailed explanations of brain effects here.
» Is it true that you can
only get the full Ketamine trip by injecting it rather than snorting it?
Afficionados claim that injection is the only way to
feel the 'true' Ketamine high. In it's pure form, Ketamine is produced
commercially as a clear liquid for intramuscular (into a muscle) injections.
It is designed to be injected by medical professionals, and we cannot
stress strongly enough how dangerous any kind of self-administered injection
is. Don't even try to inject K intravenously (into a vein), because you'll
pass out before you finish the injection.
»
What is the 'K-hole'?
This describes the peak effect of a strong Ketamine
trip when users' bodies are virtually paralysed, while the sense of self
feels removed from the body.
» Do different brands of Ketamine have different
effects?
Pharmaceutical liquid Ketamine is sold under various
tradenames, notably Ketalar, Ketaset, and Ketamine 500. Different brands
can have different effects. For instance, Ketalar contains the preservative
benzthonium chloride, which is an anticholinergic agent which counteracts
the effects of the brain neurotransmitter, acetylcholine. It has its own
psychoactive effects seperate from Ketamine, mainly "delerium"
at higher doses. Ketamine 500 contains the potentially neurotoxic substance,
chlorobutanol, which has displayed harmful effects in some animal experments.
(1)
It is not known whether these preservative survive the 'cooking'
process when converting liquid K to powder.
» ask
us a question

1. Ketamine: Dreams & Realities
p.38 (original source: Malinovsky, JM, Servin, F, Cozian, A, Lepage, JY,
Pinaud, M, Souron, R (1993) "Is Ketamine or its preservative responsible
for neurotoxicity in the rabbit?" Anaesthesiology 77(2): 203-207
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