August 2007 DEA/OD/ODE

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has gained popularity as a drug of abuse. On the street, it is commonly known as "K" or "Special K." Other street names include Cat Valium, Super Acid, Special La Coke, Purple, Jet (Texas), and Vitamin K. Slang for experiences related to ketamine or effects of ketamine include: "k-land" (refers to a mellow & colorful experience), "K-hole" (refers to the out-of-body, near death experience), "baby food" (users sink in to blissful, infantile inertia), and "God" (users are convinced that they have met their maker).

Since the 1970s, ketamine has been marketed in the United States as an injectable short-acting anesthetic for use in humans and animals. It is imported into the United States and formulated into dosage forms for distribution under the trade names Ketalar, Ketaset, Ketajet, Ketavet, Vetamine, Vetaket, and Ketamine Hydrochloride Injection.

Ketamine hydrochloride, 2-(2-chlorophenyl)-2-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone hydrochloride, is a white crystalline powder, which is soluble in water. It is a rapid-acting non-barbiturate dissociative anesthetic, structurally and pharmacologically similar to phencyclidine (PCP). It produces sedation, immobility, amnesia, and marked analgesia. At low doses and upon emergence from anesthesia, it produces changes in mood, body image, and hallucination. Relative to PCP, ketamine is less potent as an anesthetic, has a faster onset and shorter duration of action.

Ketamine distorts perceptions of sight and sound and makes the user feel disconnected and not in control. A "Special K" trip is touted as better than that of LSD or PCP because its hallucinatory effects are relatively short in duration, lasting approximately 30 to 60 minutes as opposed to several hours.

Ketamine powder is usually snorted , mixed in drinks or smoked. Liquid ketamine is injected, applied on a smokeable material or consumed in drinks. Most abusers of ketamine take small lines or "bumps" for a mild, dreamy effect. A dose of 100 mg is usually enough to enter a "k-hole" experience. A dose is referred to as a "bump."

Ketamine is abused by teenagers and young adults.

DEA reports indicate that a major source of illicit ketamine in the United States is Mexico. Despite DEA and Mexican law enforcement dismantling the major drug ring of illicit ketamine in the United States in September 2002, Mexico continues to be a major supplier of ketamine into the United States. In November 2005, DEA successfully dismantled a large ketamine distribution organization operating throughout Los Angeles, Riverside and Orange counties in California. At that time approximately 35,000 dosage units of ketamine, smuggled from Mexico, were seized.

Law enforcement information indicated that another source was an international pharmaceutical drug organization. This organization was smuggling ketamine from India into the United States. In April 2005, that organization was taken down and 108 kilograms of Indian ketamine seized with an estimated street value of approximately $1.62 million.

Ketamine is distributed as a dried powder or as a liquid in small vials or bottles. It is snorted, smoked, ingested orally or injected. Powdered ketamine is formed from pharmaceutical ketamine by evaporating the liquid off. The national average price for ketamine is $20 to $40 per dosage unit and $65 to $100 per 10 ml vial containing one gram of ketamine.

Ketamine is mainly found by itself. However, it has also been found in combination with MDMA, amphetamine, methamphetamine, cocaine, or carisoprodol. Occasionally, ketamine is found in polydrug "MDMA" (Ecstasy) tablets.

According to the System to Retrieve Information from Drug Evidence (STRIDE), a federal database for drug seizures analyzed by DEA laboratories, there were 185 cases involving 408 exhibits in 2001 and 166 cases involving 330 exhibits in 2002. Recent seizure data indicate that ketamine availability is decreasing. Since 2003, number of STRIDE cases involving ketamine showed small decline: 2003: 144 cases involving 236 exhibits; 2004: 111 cases involving 233 exhibits; 2005: 79 cases involving 152 exhibits; 2006: 140 cases involving 294 exhibits. According to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System (NFLIS), state and local forensic laboratories analyzed 1,153 drug items (925 cases), 1,526 drug items (1,222 cases), 762 drug items (643 cases), 535 drug items (456 cases), 498 drug items (414 cases), and 1,171 drug items (942 cases) in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2006, respectively.

On August 12, 1999, ketamine including its salts, isomers, and salts of isomers, became a schedule III non-narcotic substance under the Federal Controlled Substances Act (CSA).