Ketamine facts
Street names
K, special K, kettle, kit kat.
How it affects you
- It can make you feel disoriented, with a sense of numbness and a lack of co-ordination.
- Low doses can create a sense of extreme pleasure and mild hallucinations.
- 'K'-holing – a feeling of travelling outside the body towards a tunnel of light.
- Effects shouldn’t last for more than about three hours.
Is it legal?
- No. It’s a Class C drug.
- If you’re caught with it you could get up to two years in jail and/or a big fine.
- If you’re caught supplying it you could get up to fourteen years in jail and an even bigger fine.
Risks, signs and symptoms
- Ketamine is an anaesthetic, which numbs pain, so you may injure yourself without realising it until the effects have worn off.
- There’s a risk of mental health problems from the drug’s disorientating experiences.
- It can cause sickness, headaches and diarrhoea, and may even paralyse you temporarily.
- If you drink alcohol or take other depressants (certain types of drugs, like tranquiliser pills prescribed by doctors) with Ketamine, you increase the risk of heart failure, unconsciousness, vomiting and choking.
- Serious and permanent bladder problems can develop.
- If you inject Ketamine there are the usual risks of dangerous infections through using needles.
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How you can reduce the risks
- The only way to fully reduce the risks from Ketamine is to not take it.
- Avoid mixing Ketamine with alcohol or other substances.
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