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Ketamine
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine was developed as a tranquilizer, or anesthetic, for
veterinarians to use on animals. It was approved for animal and human use in 1970. On occasion, the drug has been used to treat children with major burns.
K is legal only for these uses. NIDA
There
is some illegal use among teens and young adults, at raves and in clubs. Club drugs are a popular topic in the media lately. Get some tips for sifting through the media here
What does it look like?
Ketamine is a liquid, but most users
let it evaporate into a white powder, then snort it. If you were to inject it, you'd lose control of your muscles before finishing the injection.
Because it's usually in white powder form, K is often confused with cocaine or crystal. Occasionally people pass it off as Ecstasy, or mix it with caffeine.
What does it do?
Ketamine has many different effects, depending on who's using it, what else is in their bodies, what their state of mind is at the time, etc.
In most cases, users experience hallucinations and disconnection from everything around them. They also feel numbness in the hands and feet, and loss of muscle control. In other words, they zone out, and sometimes
pass out. Occasionally they'll vomit and convulse. In some cases, people have been known to go into a coma. A full gram of K can kill you. NIDA
People on K can't really talk, and they feel no pain. These sensations
can last up to an hour from a single dose, and a great deal longer for bigger doses. And flashbacks can happen up to a year later.
Who takes it?
K is mostly a club drug--and most people who use it
also use other drugs at the same time, like ecstasy, cocaine, crystal, and marijuana.
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