Ketamine 211prompted by the substance and guided by psychotherapists, but in principle
a single dose of a drug is unlikely to stop addiction to some other drug.
Experiments indicate ketamine may have potential for treating migraine
headache and depression, and researchers have seen evidence that ketamine
may improve asthma and shrink breast cancer cells. Ketamine can reduce
phantom limb pain, a strange affliction in which a person senses that an am-
putated limb is still present and hurting. The drug has been used in psycho-
therapy to help persons face and deal with unpleasant memories, a process
accompanied by what researchers described as “mind expanding effects.” Ke-
tamine has also been investigated as a potential defense against the chemical
warfare agents soman and diisopropylphosphorofluoridate.
Healthy volunteers receiving ketamine in an experiment have experienced
sensations reminiscent of LSD. Researchers have described such effects as
“profound” among alcoholics, and illicit ketamine users have said such effects
are “intense.” The substance can prompt people to feel like they are becoming
transparent, blending into nearby individuals, or becoming an animal or ob-
ject. Users may feel like their bodies are transforming into harder or softer
substances. Persons may think they remember experiences from a past life.
Some users take the drug to enter the “K-hole,” a semiparalytic state described
as similar to near-death experiences in which people perceive their conscious-
ness as floating above their bodies, sometimes accompanied by meaningful
hallucinations and by insights about the user’s life and its proper place in the
cosmos.
Examination of deaths among recreational ketamine users in New York City
in a two-year period during the 1990s found none in which ketamine was the
only substance in the person’s body. Children have accidentally been given 5
to 100 times the normal size dose and have survived with no apparent injury.
Drawbacks.A case report tells of recreational users experiencing temporary
paralysis. Nausea and vomiting have been reported, and scientific literature
contains several mentions of temporary breathing interruption caused by the
drug. Increased pressure within the eye (a potential problem for glaucoma
sufferers) has been measured following a ketamine dose, but not all research-
ers looking for that effect have found it. The drug can interfere with a male’s
physical ability to engage in sexual activity. Experiments show that ketamine
can cause brain damage in rats and that simultaneous use ofnitrous oxide
worsens the damaging action. Ketamine can cause nervous agitation, extra
salivation, blood pressure elevation, abnormal heartbeat, and muscle injury.
Persons suffering from the body chemistry disorder porphyria should exercise
caution about ketamine use.
The drug can change perceptions of one’s surroundings. Tests indicate ke-
tamine can alter visual perception for at least 24 hours, causing people to
misjudge size and speed of objects (implying that driving skills may be im-
paired). Long-term use may cause persistent difficulties with attention, mem-
ory, and learning ability. The substance can create amnesia about what
happens while a person is under the drug’s influence.
Ketamine’s psychological actions have been characterized as similar to tem-
porary schizophrenia. A study examining persons who received the drug dur-
ing surgery found that upon awakening some felt they were floating; some