At KnowYourStuffNZ we’ve seen quite a bump in the use of ketamine over this festival season (pardon the pun). As we’re responsible ponies who like to make everybody safer, we want to give some easy to digest, legit information about K: no horse-play here.
Here’s what our friends at The Loop have to say:
“Ketamine is what is known as a dissociative anaesthetic which gives users a sense of detachment from their body and surroundings.”
It’s usually found as a white powder and taken in ‘bumps’ by snorting up the nose (insufflation). A common dose is around 50-80mg, with anything over that considered a strong or heavy dose.
Effects start trotting along within 7-20 minutes, hitting a gallop at about 30-60 minutes, and after-effects lasting from 2-12 hours. Ketamine is still in your system even after you stop feeling effects so having more can produce stronger effects than expected.
Let’s get it all lined up for easy consumption:
| Effects Include: | Risks Include: |
| Feeling light and bouncy as a foal | Accidents while intoxicated |
| Dizziness | Dependence |
| Delusions | Disturbing hallucinations |
| Visual hallucinations | Psychosis |
| Vomiting (Especially if combined with alcohol) | Nasal damage |
| At high doses it leads to the “K-hole”: Users seem unresponsive to others, but experience vivid hallucinations | Slowed breathing, inability to look after yourself, vomiting and potentially death |
In our work testing and giving out advice at festivals around Aotearoa, we’ve noticed that a lot more people are horsing around with ketamine in 2020, and a correlated upswing in reports of ketamine-related harm.
Some people are ending up in the K-hole even when they don’t want to, by repeatedly ‘bumping’ the same amount or increasing amounts. The cumulative effect is something to really be aware of friends: reduce the size of each bump if you are going to repeat dose.
Don’t mix ketamine with other drugs: depressants like alcohol increase the risk of passing out and choking on your own vomit. When mixed with stimulants like MDMA it can cause blood pressure spikes.
If you are seeking the K-hole make sure you are with people you trust. Have a designated trip-sitter, or at least someone who’s not also K-holing, to make sure you aren’t a victim of “foal play” while you’re incapacitated.
A significant number of regular users experience bladder problems – including UTI’s, cystitis, and a risk of ulcerated bladder requiring bladder removal. We recommend keeping K special and your bladder intact by using it only occasionally.
Once again, because we’ve seen it a lot: don’t mix Ketamine with alcohol. One of the biggest risks is impaired judgement from alcohol mixed with the lack of coordination and dissociation from Ket, leading to all sorts of bad times.
Remember folks, we do regular free drug testing with an infrared spectrometer in various cities around the country: don’t look this gift horse in the mouth! Be sure of what you’re putting in your body.
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