What is ketamine Powder?
ketamine Powder is also known as K, Ket, special K, Vitamin K, or horse tranquiliser.
Ketamine (ketamine hydrochloride) is a white powder, usually sold in ‘bumps’ or grams. A ‘bump’ is a small amount of powder which is snorted through a small glass inhaler called a bumper. Ketamine can also be swallowed, smoked, or injected.
Ketamine is commonly used by veterinarians to sedate animals such as horses. As with all drugs sold in powder form, ketamine may also be sold ‘cut’ (mixed) with other white powder substances which may or may not be harmful- people using this drug can never be 100% sure of what they’re getting.
What are the effects of Ketamine?
If snorted or ‘bumped’, ketamine takes effect within 5-10 minutes (longer if swallowed). Its effects can last for a couple of hours.
The effects of ketamine vary, but may include:
| Immediate | Long-term |
|---|---|
| Increased heart rate and body temperature | Dependence (see glossary) |
| Drowsiness | Problems with memory, attention, and decision making |
| Feeling of euphoria (a ‘high’) | Mental health problems |
| Loss of coordination | Ulcerative cystitis – symptoms include frequent and painful urination, cramps and involuntary urination. |
| Slurred speech | Intense abdominal pains known as ‘K-cramps’ |
| Feeling dizzy or faint | Kidney problems |
| Confusion and disorientation | |
| Numbness and a feeling of paralysis | |
| Nausea and vomiting | |
| Anxiety and panic attacks | |
| Hallucinations (seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there) | |
| Paranoia (feeling extremely suspicious and frightened) | |
| Psychosis (see glossary) | |
| An experience known as the ‘K-hole’ which is the feeling of being trapped in a state of detachment. This can be frightening | |
| Overdose |
Methoxetamine
takes effect after approximately 10–20 minutes, with effects lasting for approximately 2–3
hours.8 Effects are similar to ketamine and may include:6
• Increased heart rate
• Feeling of euphoria (a ‘high’)
• Anxiety, panic attacks
• Nausea, vomiting
• Paranoia (feeling extremely suspicious and frightened)
• Diarrhoea
• Visual and other perceptual distortions,
• Hallucinations (e.g. seeing or hearing things that aren’t really there)
Another dissociative anaesthetic sometimes used for its psychoactive effects is methoxetamine, also known
as MXE. It is a ‘new psychoactive drug’ that is chemically similar to ketamine and has similar effects. It is also
a white powder. Currently, little is known about the risks of taking it.6-8
METHOXETAMINE
HOW MANY PEOPLE USE KETAMINE?
Ketamine use is very low in Australia. According to the 2016 National Drug Strategy Household Survey,
one in two hundred and fifty (0.4%) Australians (aged 14 or over) had used it in the past 12 months.9
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF METHOXETAMINE?
At higher doses, ketamine users can have an experience called entering the ‘K-hole’, which is a ‘trip’-like
experience that varies from person to person, but commonly includes:12
• Noticeable confusion
• Problems speaking
• Unexplainable experiences (these can range from pleasant to terrifying)
• Floating sensations
• Dissociation (perceiving a separation of mind and body)
Less common K-hole experiences include:
• Near-death experience sensations
• The feeling of being somewhere completely different to where the person actually is
• Visual distortions (things looking weird or different)
• Having out-of-body experiences
• Experiences such as feeling a deeper level of consciousness or understanding
• A distorted sense of self
WHAT IS THE K-HOLE?
WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS?
If snorted or ‘bumped’, ketamine takes effect within 5-10 minutes (longer if swallowed).2 Its effects can last a
couple of hours.10 Effects of taking ketamine are extremely variable, but can include any of the following:1, 11-13
• Increased heart rate, blood pressure and/or body temperature
• Increased energy
• Feelings of dissociation (e.g. disconnected from feelings and surroundings)
• Euphoria or a ‘high’
• A feeling of calmness
• Increased sense of closeness (e.g. to people or objects)
• Feeling dizzy, faint or numb
• Distortions in time and space
• Paranoia (feeling extremely suspicious and frightened)
• Drowsiness, numbness, a feeling of paralysis, slurring words or difficulty speaking, loss of coordination
• Anxiety, panic and distress
• Nausea, vomiting
• Visual hallucinations
• Confusion, disorientation
• Passing out or risk of overdose, especially if used with other drugs such as alcohol or GHB
It’s hard to predict how a person will feel after they take ketamine. Effects vary from one person to
another based on a number of factors including:
• Physical size
• Age
• Gender
• Physical health
• The dose and purity of the dose
Users may experience a ‘comedown’ in the following days. The comedown phase after-effects can include
feeling twitchy and restless, having difficulty concentrating, memory problems (e.g. remembering names),
feeling paranoid, suspicious or irritable.4
WHAT ARE THE RISKS?
The effects of ketamine can be unpleasant or even dangerous when used in the wrong situations or by
people with pre-existing conditions or susceptibilities (which they may not already be aware of).
The risks of using ketamine include:1, 11
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure — this is extremely dangerous for people who have preexisting problems such as hypertension (high blood pressure), severe heart disease, or who are at
risk of a stroke. This risk is even greater when ketamine is used alongside drugs that have stimulant
effects (e.g. ecstasy or methamphetamine)
• Users are also more likely to experience injury. Injuries can occur due to ketamine’s anaesthetic
properties. People often injure themselves but do not realise it until much later
• Distress, anxiety, panic attacks
• Paranoia (usually among regular users)
• Nausea, vomiting
• Psychotic symptoms can be triggered in some people (e.g. those with schizophrenia)
• Overdose, especially if the user is also using other depressant drugs (e.g. alcohol, tranquillisers/
benzodiazepines such as Vallium, some types of painkillers such as opioids including morphine or
OxyContin, or heroin)
Ketamine use over the longer term can also lead to:1, 15
• Problems with memory, attention and decision making abilities. These may remain even after the
person stops using ketamine
• More fragile mental health
• Ulcerative cystitis – symptoms include frequent and painful urination, cramps and urinary
incontinence. Some people have also developed kidney problems
• ‘K-cramps’ – if the person uses a lot over a long period of time, they could experience intense
abdominal pains known as K-cramps. These usually stop when the person stops using
There is still a lot that we don’t yet know about the long-term risks of regular ketamine use, or what can
happen when ketamine is taken with other drugs.1
Whether a person is a first-time, occasional or regular user, one of the major risks is that the effects of illegal
drugs are unpredictable. Users can never be sure of what they’re using — what they are told is ketamine may
actually be something quite different, or it could be cut (mixed) with something more harmful.
Currently, there is also a lack of information about the problems methoxetamine use can cause, although
there have been some reports of people requiring hospital treatment after taking it.7
It is possible to be dependent on (addicted to) ketamine, particularly if it’s used regularly and/or heavily.
People who are dependent on ketamine find that using the drug becomes far more important than other
things in their lives, such as work, sport, socialising or study. They crave the drug and find it very difficult
to stop using it.1
People also develop tolerance to the drug. This means that they need to take more of the
drug to get the same effect.1
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