Ketamine Drug Information
The drug ketamine is a good example of the dangerous lengths that some people will go to in order to achieve an altered state. A person high on ketamine experiences distortion of sight and sound and a feeling of detachment from their own bodies, identities, and the environment. But accompanying these effects can be depression, delirium, addiction, and amnesia.
Ketamine is primarily intended to be used as an animal anesthetic but is instead abused in a party atmosphere or by oneself. It comes in powder or liquid form and can be ingested, smoked, injected or snorted.
There are specific, well-defined states of intoxication that ketamine abusers will seek.
A ketamine abuser may take some ketamine, see how high he (or she) gets, then take more and more until the state he is looking for is achieved. At the higher points of intoxication, the abuser would be unable to take any more of the drug anyway.
These specific states are defined as follows:
- K-Land: the person is mellow and experiences distortions of perceptions that are considered enjoyable
- K-Hole: the person is completely dissociated from the body, cannot relate to people or things happening in the environment. He is fully encased in a dreamlike sensation.
- Baby Food: the user experiences an inertia similar to that of an infant
- God: the user feels he has experienced a meeting with a Supreme Being.
Ketamine takes effect quickly although ingesting the drug is a slower route to these effects. The effects are not particularly long-lasting. In an hour or so, the primary effects of the drug will start to wear off.
Ketamine is similar in chemical effect to PCP and like PCP, can cause flashbacks, even long after ketamine abuse has stopped. At high doses, ketamine can cause delirium or amnesia. Nausea may result, and an overdose can slow breathing and cause unconsciousness.
Use as a Date Rape Drug
Because of the dissociative effect of the drug, it can be secretly slipped into someone’s drink at a club. The recipient may become unable to protect himself or herself from sexual assault. Ketamine may be obtained across the border in Mexico just for this purpose or it may be stolen from veterinary clinics in the US. Drug dealers may obtain the drug in Mexico and traffic it into the US, particularly into the Rocky Mountain states.
In addition to the changes in awareness and distortions of perceptions, ketamine may create hallucinations similar to those created by LSD. Some hallucinations can involve near-death experiences and terror.
There are few situations in which it can legally be used in humans but most of the ketamine on the market is for animal use.
Addiction to Ketamine
Ketamine can cause the major symptoms of addiction which include:
- Developing a tolerance to the drug, meaning more is needed to create the same effect as before
- Intense cravings for the drug that drive the person back to use more of the drug despite the harm that results
- Psychological dependence meaning the person does not feel he can function if he does not have the drug.
Because ketamine is an anesthetic, a person abusing this drug can seriously injure himself without ever realizing it until after the drug wears off.
Some ketamine users will binge on the drug, which means use it again and again without ever fully coming down from it. But the use of this drug can cause agitation, depression, amnesia and difficulty thinking or learning. If a person becomes addicted to ketamine, it is essential that this person receive the help that enables him to resume a sober life again.
Narconon Helps Those Who Become Addicted to Ketamine
No matter what drug a person becomes addicted to, Narconon drug rehabilitation can help. The Narconon drug rehab program is an eight to ten-week program, on average, that helps each person repair the damage done by addiction. Once the physical effects of addiction are alleviated, each person then has a chance to repair the sober living skills that are normally destroyed during addiction.
Drugs create such severe changes in a person’s character that many people find themselves committing acts they would never have carried out before they were addicts. Theft, assault or violence against strangers or their own families are very common when someone is addicted. These acts create a deep sense of guilt that tends to keep a person trapped in addiction.
Narconon can provide the answer. Addiction recovery is not something that occurs overnight. A thorough detoxification followed by counseling and life skills training enables a person in a drug program to see things in a whole new light so they can live an enjoyable, productive life again.
Learn more about the Narconon drug recovery program.
References:
®