Also known as K, Special K

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic which makes people feel detached from their immediate environment; it can also turn muscles rigid so that the user is frozen until the drug wears off. Users say that they experience their bodies very differently whilst on ketamine, perhaps one of the reasons that it is frequently combined with ecstasy and LSD. Ketamine is largely used on the club scene.

Ketamine is a prescription-only medicine and is not illegal to possess. However, you can be prosecuted under the Medicines Act for selling the drug without a license. Ketamine comes as a liquid, a white powder or pill, which can be swallowed, snorted or injected. The drug begins to take effect after about twenty minutes when taken orally, and usually starts very gradually. The body heats up and the user begins to notice an altered sense of their body when moving about. Some users report intense hallucinogenic effects in the mind's eye; others report difficulty in moving, and may freeze completely.

The psychological effect of ketamine may be to plunge the user into what is often called a 'K-hole', a place from which it's difficult to return or for others to reach until the drug wears off. For this reason it is important that ketamine users be looked after by others whilst in this state, since they may not be able to look after themselves or communicate that they are having difficulties such as violent overheating, difficulty in swallowing or choking, all of which can occur on ketamine.

Eating or drinking in the hours before taking ketamine could lead to vomiting, as with any anaesthetic.

The effects of long-term ketamine use may include memory loss and mental disturbances. Several deaths from ketamine use have been reported in the UK.