Ketamine.- A new dangerous Drug used by young
Consuelo | 10.04.2013 21:03
Few parents aware of drug du jour 'Special K'. If you ask a teenager about 'Special K' these days, don’t expect them to immediately reach for a cereal bowl. That's because it's the nickname of the drug du jour — ketamine.
Although immensely popular with younger people, few parents are savvy about the new recreational drug that's giving teenagers a quick, dramatic high.
Ketamine is used by veterinarians, doctors and dentists as a dissociative anaesthetic and painkiller, but is appearing increasingly on the streets.
"Kids are taking it at clubs, but it's also a date rape drug," Det. Sgt. Howie Page of Toronto police explains. "GHB, the most popular date rape drug, renders the victim unconscious — they don't remember anything. Ketamine puts them in a semi-conscious state, paralyzing them so they can't fight back. Young women who willingly take it are putting themselves in danger."
Wende Wood, a psychiatric pharmacist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, adds, "Parents should be concerned that if their child takes ketamine, they may be putting themselves in a situation where could be raped or harmed. I'd worry also if they were really drawn to it. Why do they need to escape?"
But it can also have serious side effects, and it's easy to overdo the dosage.
"We get a number of calls from physicians whose patients have had an adverse reaction to ketamine," says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Centre.
So it's serious if a parent sees their child unconscious and unrousable, disoriented or appearing drunk. They should call 911 immediately."
By Georgie Binks
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, Inspired from the Works of L. Ron Hubbard, responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices. See
http://www.cchr.org
Ketamine is used by veterinarians, doctors and dentists as a dissociative anaesthetic and painkiller, but is appearing increasingly on the streets.
"Kids are taking it at clubs, but it's also a date rape drug," Det. Sgt. Howie Page of Toronto police explains. "GHB, the most popular date rape drug, renders the victim unconscious — they don't remember anything. Ketamine puts them in a semi-conscious state, paralyzing them so they can't fight back. Young women who willingly take it are putting themselves in danger."
Wende Wood, a psychiatric pharmacist with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, adds, "Parents should be concerned that if their child takes ketamine, they may be putting themselves in a situation where could be raped or harmed. I'd worry also if they were really drawn to it. Why do they need to escape?"
But it can also have serious side effects, and it's easy to overdo the dosage.
"We get a number of calls from physicians whose patients have had an adverse reaction to ketamine," says Dr. Margaret Thompson, medical director of the Ontario Poison Centre.
So it's serious if a parent sees their child unconscious and unrousable, disoriented or appearing drunk. They should call 911 immediately."
By Georgie Binks
The Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) is a nonprofit mental health watchdog, Inspired from the Works of L. Ron Hubbard, responsible for helping to enact more than 150 laws protecting individuals from abusive or coercive practices. See
http://www.cchr.org
Consuelo