Ketamine - Consequences
Consequences
Ketamine can trigger severe emotional breakdowns in some users. People who suffer from schizophreniaA mental disease characterized by a withdrawal from reality and other intellectual and emotional disturbances. or other mood disorders are at special risk, since hallucinogenic drug use may reactivate mental illnesses that were once under control.
In Designer Drugs, Olive pointed out that ketamine "impairs the user's senses and judgment for up to twenty-four hours after taking the drug, even though the initial trip wears off within an hour or so." As a result, the user loses the ability to drive a car or operate machinery safely. Ketamine is also dangerous because of its
A police lieutenant holds up a plastic bag containing the designer drug ketamine in Tampa, Florida. The officer is standing in front of a nightclub that was shut down for permitting illegal drugs to be used there. © James Leynse/Corbis.
painkilling properties. An individual under its influence may sustain a serious injury (such as a burn or a deep cut) without even knowing it. This occurs when the pain center of the brain is blocked.
In Hot Pursuit of Ketamine Dealers
Seizures of ketamine have been reported worldwide. Between 2003 and mid-2005, ketamine related drug busts made news in the United States, Canada, India, Australia, the Philippines, and China. Here are some highlights.
- According to a 2003 Microgram Bulletin article, a mechanic in Maryland discovered what looked like individually wrapped sugar cubes while inspecting a vehicle. Foil-wrapped sugar cubes often contain LSD, but these were laced with ketamine.
- From the summer of 2003 through the winter of 2005, a huge online pharmacy based in India sold about $20 million worth of unprescribed drugs worldwide. The illegal drug network distributed numerous prescription drugs and one club drug—ketamine—through more than 200 Web sites. Philadelphia Inquirer staff writer Thomas Ginsberg reported that the drugs were shipped from India, Germany, and Hungary to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, for repackaging. DEA officials nicknamed the international drug investigation "Operation Cyber Chase." The illegal Internet pharmacy bust led to the arrest of twenty-two people in the United States, Canada, and India.
- In April of 2005, the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) of Singapore reported the arrests of a twenty-four-year-old Chinese man and his two associates. The men were selling ketamine and ecstasy. More than 7 grams (0.245 ounces) of ketamine and 75 ecstasy tablets were seized from the trio. According to the CNB web site, the three men faced "a minimum sentence of five years imprisonment and five strokes of the cane" if convicted.
- In May of 2005, a Special Operations Task Force was tracking Chinese drug manufacturers operating in the Philippines. Johnson Chua, the leader of the illicit drug ring, allegedly concocted and sold a dangerous combination of ketamine and "shabu" (the Asian name for ecstasy). As of that time, drug agents in the Philippines had seized about 7 kilograms (246.92 ounces) of ketamine from Chua's labs, but Chua had not yet been found. Alfred Dalizon, writing in the People's Journal, referred to ketamine as "a new drug craze." According to the Philippines National Police, mixtures of ketamine and ecstasy "could be deadly to users as it could lead even to suicide."
Data published on NIDA's Epidemiology of Youth Drug Abuse Web site suggest that people who inject ketamine are often young, live in economically depressed urban areas, and have experience dealing drugs. Furthermore, they seem to lack, or ignore, basic knowledge about the dangers of sharing needles with other drug users. Consequently, many young users who inject ketamine run a high risk of contracting HIV (the human immunodeficiency virus), which can lead to AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). Likewise, the decrease in inhibitionsInner thoughts that keep people from engaging in certain activities. resulting from ketamine use is a cause for concern. Individuals under the influence of ketamine may engage in unsafe sexual activity. Unprotected sex is the leading cause of HIV transmission.
