If you or a loved one is experiencing ketamine drug abuse or ketamine addiction, The Phoenix Recovery Center is here to offer support and addiction treatment. Therapy is a leading form of ketamine addiction treatment, and The Phoenix provides a safe environment where users can get help if experiencing ketamine withdrawal symptoms and receive assistance as they learn to identify and practice tools to help them overcome their problems with ketamine drug abuse.

Popular among many teens and young adults in the club and rave scene, Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that is intended to be used only in medical and veterinary practice but is sometimes abused for its hallucinogenic properties and symptoms. Its effects are similar to those of PCP, another dissociative drug, meaning it creates a sort of detached high in those who abuse it.

Ketamine is an odorless and tasteless drug that can be taken as pills; via injections; as a liquid mixed into liquids; or as a powder that is snorted, mixed in drinks or smoked. It is a Schedule III non-narcotic substance under the Controlled Substances Act, meaning it has a low to moderate potential for physical and psychological abuse. However, the dangerous symptoms and effects of ketamine are very real.

Because it is difficult to come by compared to other high- or hallucination-inducing drugs, ketamine is not as widely used. Even so, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, in 2017, 1.2% of students in 12th grade reported they had used ketamine within the past year — meaning more than 1 in 100 has at least tried it.

Ketamine causes users to feel separated from their pain or their environment because it creates feelings of calmness, relaxation, amnesia, and other dissociative symptoms and sensations. Its hallucinatory effects last a relatively short 30 to 60 minutes, making ketamine a popular option for people wanting a fast “trip” — however, among other nasty symptoms, ketamine can often take people on a trip to places they don’t want to go. And while the hallucinatory effects are short-lived, ketamine side effects impacting judgment, senses and coordination can last for up to 24 hours.

Most of the people who use ketamine are looking for a way to relax or achieve a high, but ketamine poses several health risks aside from the danger of becoming addicted. According to DrugAbuse.gov, low doses of ketamine can cause impaired attention, learning ability and memory; these effects can impact a person’s regular activities and be potential life-threatening, such as if a person is driving. Higher doses can cause hallucinations or a dreamlike state, but the hallucinations can be frightening or stressful rather than relaxing — some users report terrifying levels of sensory detachment they liken to a near-death experience — and can also put the person using ketamine and those around him or her in danger.

At its most potent, ketamine can cause symptoms such as delirium, amnesia, impaired motor function and unconsciousness — which is what makes it a dangerous date rape drug even where the person who takes it does so knowingly. High doses of ketamine can also lead to high blood pressure and potentially fatal respiratory problems; in other words, death by ketamine overdose.

Recent research published in the US Library of Medicine has also demonstrated that chronic ketamine abuse can create lasting damage to the brain, with lesions on the brain appearing within the first year of abuse and growing into large sites of atrophy within 4 years of addiction.

Ketamine Side Effects

• Hallucinatory effects lasting between 30 and 60 minutes
• Sights and sounds distorted
• Feelings of relaxation, calmness and relief from pain
• Amnesia
• Immobility or loss of motor coordination
• “Out of control” feeling in body
• Unconsciousness
• Behavioral changes such as agitation or depression
• Flashbacks
• Dangerously slowed breathing
• Nausea and vomiting

Other Names for Ketamine

According to GetSmartAboutDrugs.gov, ketamine also goes by the following street names: Vitamin K, Special K, Super K, Cat Valium, Cat Tranquilizer, Kit Kat, Super Acid, Super K, Purple, Special la Coke, Jet K

It is possible become addicted to ketamine. Users of ketamine can develop a tolerance or even cravings for the drug, and people have been know to binge on ketamine in a manner similar to those who are addicted to cocaine or amphetamines. While the long-term use of ketamine has not been thoroughly researched, repeated use of another dissociative drug, PCP, has been shown to lead to a tolerance for the drug, withdrawal symptoms, persistent speech difficulties, loss of memory, suicidal thoughts, depression, social withdrawal and anxiety that can last long after use of the drug has stopped.

Ketamine addiction can be identified through many of the same signs seen in other substance addictions. Such signs include mood changes, depression, nausea and vomiting, drug paraphernalia (in the case of ketamine, this may include empty bottles, needles or pill packets), and failure to fulfill responsibilities at home, work or school.

The Phoenix Recovery Center is driven by this guiding mission statement: “Empowering individuals and families suffering from addiction and mental health disorders to celebrate life through lasting solutions.”

Ketamine addiction treatment at The Phoenix Recovery Center is a carefully tailored program defined by research. We make every effort to support outcomes that prepare patients and their families to manage mental health disorders and to reclaim a meaningful life. We equip those we help to overcome ketamine abuse with both the knowledge and the applied behaviors they need to continue on a path to success.