Ketamine is the new ‘stuff’

Clubbers and addicts are increasingly turning away from ecstasy and heroin to ketamine, a dangerous horse tranquilliser that has been linked to 23 deaths.According to a leading drug charity worker, addicts on Teesside are turning to the drug because it’s purer than heroin, while research by Newcastle-based Drugscope found there was an increased use amongst clubbers of the narcotic.Tina Williams, of Parents and Addicts Against Narcotics in the Community said: “Ketamine is the new ‘stuff’ and we have a lot of people using. It’s definitely on the increase.
“It’s a horse sedative and it has a similar effect to heroin. Addicts have cottoned onto this as heroin is now so diluted in the region they can’t even get a hit off it.“It’s readily available and now addicts have more options rather than just heroin and crack.
“Because it’s a class C drug people don’t think that it can be dangerous.”
Known as Special K, Vitamin K or simply K, the drug is developing a strong following in dance club circuits despite being made illegal three years ago.It is usually snorted or swallowed but according to research by Drugscope, more and more people are choosing to inject it.At low levels users feel euphoric, experience waves of energy and even a condition called synaesthesia where users’ senses merge into one another.
But at higher levels the drug can cause paralysis, hallucinations and a disassociation that is close to an out of body experience. It is also a known date rape drug as it has no taste and is odourless.