Before I write an article about the designer drugs (party drugs) I would like to write about ketamine. The reason is it is abused in India, including in Chennai. In Europe it is not at all abused. It is like PCP which is also abused only in North America. It is mostly abused by young women and men.

What is ketamine?

Ketamine is a veterinary medicine for more than 30 years, but since 20 years we know the abuse and addiction potential of it. It is an anaesthetic pain relieving and has hallucinogenic properties. It is related to PCP which is also a veterinary medicine. It can produce the feeling of an out-of-body experience. The name ketamine must be known to you because I read this regularly in the newspapers that police has captured somebody who wanted to smuggle this to some other places or countries. It seems Chennai is one of the main places for this dirty business.


Can it make you an addict?

Less physical, but more psychological addiction is the result of prolonged abuse of this drug.

Is it a real painkiller?

It has got excellent painkilling properties and mostly used to control the most severe pain.

What are the effects of ketamine?

The effects often noticed include:

• Hallucinations
• Loss of memory
• Confusion
• Nausea
• Amnesic feeling

What are the side effects?

The side effects are:

• Delirium
• High blood pressure
• Increased heart beat
• Impaired attention and
• Numbness

People who have undergone ketamine anaesthesia report out-of-the-body experiences.

Is the effect like heroin?

No, it is not like heroin, here the addiction is not physical but psychological comparable with cocaine and it is mostly abused to experience the intense psychedelic effects, mostly the out-of-body-experiences.

Is there a possibility to die if I abuse this?

Mortalities only with abuse of ketamine are very rarely reported, if it is abused in combination with tranquilizers or alcohol or other CNS depressant drugs, it is possible.

What are the street names of ketamine?

The street names of ketamine include:

• K
• Special K
• Vitamin K
• Ket
• Green
• Super C
• Baby food
• Jet
• Gas
• Honey oil
• Super acid

It is better not to abuse any drug because it, not only destroys you, but also your whole family.