Ketamine
Ketamine
Also know as?
Vitamin K, Super K, Special K, K, Green, donkey dust.
| ‘Illegal’ drugs (‘accidental exposure’ – zero tolerance approach) | Threshold limit in microgrammes per litre of blood (µg/L) |
|---|---|
| Ketamine | 20µg/L |
What is Ketamine?
Ketamine is a medication used mostly for anesthesia. Additional uses include sedation in intensive care. Ketamine can be used as a pain killer; treatment of bronchospasm; treatment for complex regional pain syndrome and as an antidepressant. Ketamine induces a trance like state while inducing memory loss, sedation, and providing pain relief. Heart function, breathing and airway reflexes usually remain functional.
What is the risk of taking Ketamine?
- Because of the body’s loss of feelings, common side effects can be paralysis of the muscles and the mind’s loss of touch with reality. Users can be left vulnerable to hurting themselves or being hurt by others.
- Ketamine changes how users hear and see, can cause also hallucinations. These effects can last for half an hour to a few hours. After-effects could be felt for some hours afterwards.
- It causes confusion, anxiety, panic attacks, and damage in short and long term memory. Everyday use is sometimes related with depression.
- High doses taken and mixed with other drugs can cause death.
How long does Ketamine stay in system?
- 2 to 4 days in urine
- Up to 90 in hair
- 7-14 days in blood*.
Expected level of drug that will stay in the system 24 hours after taking Ketamine.
*For chronic users, drugs can be reserved in the system much longer after their last use. For example, marijuana and PCP stay in user’s system and can be detected for up to 30 days after long periods of heavy use.
