Ketamine (Special K, Super K) induces a lack of awareness to pain and to one's general surroundings, leading to a scattered feeling or to a feeling of detachment. Ketamine is usually snorted but may be injected intravenously.

Ketamine reduces pain perception and causes sedation. Ketamine distorts the user's perceptions of his body, the environment, and time. At higher doses, hallucinations, paranoid delusions, and a complete sense of detachment from the world may occur (ketamine users often refer to these experiences as a k-hole). Ketamine also can disrupt memory for several hours.

Treatment

Usually, reassurance and a quiet, nonthreatening environment help a person to recover. The drug's effects generally abate in less than 2 hours.

Last full review/revision February 2003