Drugs and Chemicals of
Concern > Ketamine
KETAMINE
(Street Names: Special K, "K", Kit Kat, Cat Valium)
August 2007
DEA/OD/ODE
Introduction:
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).
Licit Uses:
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.
Chemistry and Pharmacology:
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.
Illicit Uses:
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."
User Population:
Ketamine is abused by teenagers and
young adults.
Illicit Distribution:
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.
Control Status:
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).
Comments and additional information are welcomed by the Drug and Chemical
Evaluation Section, FAX 202-353-1263 or telephone 202-307-183.
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