Not OK- The Independent KO's Ketamine
Author: Jonty Adderley
Thursday, March 21, 2002
"Satisfaction at the quiet dropping of the rhetoric of the "war on drugs" is justified," said the Independent, then called for authorities to turn their attention towards "the really dangerous drugs."
"That would enable policy to be targeted with more precision on the real problem areas, crack cocaine and ketamine, the increasingly popular 'club' drug that provides temporary oblivion.
"I don't think it's a suitable drug for a dance context because it does make it difficult to walk and talk," leading ketamine expert Dr Karl Jansen told Skrufff.
"But, what I think about The Independent article is that they are continuing the type of errors of thinking that partly fuelled/still fuel the 'War on Drugs' in the first place: 'My drugs are OK (nicotine, alcohol) but we must DO SOMETHING about those other drugs because they are evil - i.e. the ones that the journalist doesn't do.
Ketamine is, of course, a totally unsuitable drug to take in a public place and it can certainly make some people zomboid, but much the same can be said of an alcohol overdose, and the latter is far more likely to kill you, and is far more common amongst people who write columns for newspapers.
I think that The Independent should reconsider their stance before choosing a new threat to society that we must persecute. There is more to the War on Drugs, and the incorrect thinking behind it, than the decriminalisation of cannabis, even if cannabis is popular at the Independent and ketamine clearly is not."
Dr Jansen, who recently published a book on the drug, 'Ketamine: Dreams and Realities' warned, however, that "even responsible people using K regularly become dependent."
"People crave it, do big binges, then stop for a while in a very similar pattern to what happens with cocaine," he continued. "It's generally regarded as a drug which has caused quite a few people who've never had a problem with any kind of drug before, to suddenly have a problem."
Ketamine Facts (from The Journal of Psychoactive Drugs):
K Effects
"Changes in the perception of body parts are common (Hansen et al. 1988), music may not be heard at all or it can seem very loud with selections of particular frequencies. Ketamine can give rise to dangerous 'automatic' behaviour, with activities continuing out of contact with the observing ego (e.g. repeatedly walking into a wall)."
K& Overdoses:
"Overdose' is a relative term. Those who have taken ketamine in clubs and can no longer walk are sometimes described as having 'collapsed' and 'overdosed' in the media. They may be rushed to hospital as 'emergencies'. While patients in those same hospitals may be given doses ten times higher, as an anaesthetic."
K & Insanity
"A ketamine trance can resemble catatonic schizophrenia. The eyes may rove from side to side and limbs move in semi-purposeful ways, while the mind stages an intense inner drama. Some people will suddenly sit up, speak a phrase, and lie down again. Ketamine users often insist that events 'really happened' and that the drug is merely a key for doors to 'other realms'. Most of these people are not insane."
The comments above are taken from 'A review of the non-medical use of ketamine' by Karl Jansen, M.D., Ph.D.. Dr Jansen is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists and his book 'Ketamine: Dreams and Realities' is available from the site below.
Dr Jansen is also always happy to answer questions about ketamine and can be contacted on K@BTInternet.com Tags