Illegal consumption of ketamine is wreaking havoc in the United Kingdom, where specialists are sounding the alarm. Here’s why we should be concerned about the popularity of this synthetic drug, which is very present in Montreal and Quebec.
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Ketamine has been popular in the field of psychiatry for several years.
“Studies have shown that ketamine has a strong and rapid antidepressant effect over a short period of time. It caused an uproar in our community. Some go so far as to say that it is the greatest psychopharmacological discovery of the last 20 years,” explains the psychiatrist specializing in the prevention and treatment of addictions at the CHUM, Dr.r Nicolas Garel.
Clinics offering ketamine treatments have thus emerged in Quebec and elsewhere in the world. The recent media coverage of these therapies may have created an illusion of safety towards ketamine.
“By talking about it as a miraculous treatment for depression and various mental disorders, we think that there is a lower perception of risk among the population. And we know that a lower perception of risk is linked to an increase in consumption. There is now an interest in self-treatment with ketamine,” analyzes the doctor.
A psychologically addictive drug
However, ketamine use is not without risk. It’s actually quite the opposite.
In the United Kingdom, illegal use of the drug is causing a public health crisis, with the number of people struggling with addiction doubling between 2019 and 2023.
More and more young people are unable to do without them after trying to self-medicate with drugs bought on the black market, experts told the daily The Guardian.
However, it is difficult to have an accurate portrait of the situation in Quebec and Canada, since the illegal consumption of ketamine has not been the subject of any recent epidemiological or population study.
“It greatly reduces the state of knowledge,” laments the Dr Nicolas Garel.
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Popular in festive environments
Before being used in psychiatry, ketamine was mainly used in medicine as an anesthetic or as a painkiller for rapid interventions.
“For example, if you dislocated your shoulder, you get to an emergency room, I can give you ketamine. It is also used during short operations because these effects dissipate quickly,” explains Dr.r Nicolas Garel.
The calming, dizzying, euphoric and floating effects it provides, however, have made it one of the most popular drugs in party environments.
On the black market, it is available in the form of a white powder similar to cocaine. It is generally inhaled, although it can also be taken orally or injected.
The Psychosocial Research and Intervention Group (GRIP), an organization offering a substance analysis service at numerous festivals in Quebec, emphasizes that it is one of the drugs most analyzed by its teams, behind MDMA and cocaine.
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The dangers of consuming too much
The consequences of ketamine abuse are numerous.
First of all, the doses used illegally are often much higher than those used in a therapeutic context, underlines the Dr Nicolas Garel.
“If you take too much at once, you can fall into what is commonly called the “k-hole,” a state of dissociation in which you feel unable to move,” he warns.
“Some develop symptoms that include perceptual disorders, cognitive disorders, memory disorders and problems with executive functions,” adds the specialist.
At very high doses, ketamine can also cause cardiovascular accidents as well as respiratory arrest. The actor of the famous series FriendsMatthew Perry, died of a ketamine overdose in 2023.
AFP
In the long term, ketamine abuse can also have many other consequences, particularly on the bladder.
“People will describe the symptoms as similar to those of a urinary tract infection. Burning, pain, blood in the urine. They have difficulty starting to urinate, in addition to feeling like they cannot empty their bladder. This creates very significant pain,” warned Dr Nicolas Garel.
The main symptoms to watch out for:
- Chest pain
- Increased blood pressure
- Vomiting
- Convulsions
- Paralysis
If you have (or if someone you are drinking with has) one or more symptoms, do not hesitate to call for help.
What the law says
Ketamine is controlled under Schedule I of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act. Activities such as the sale, possession or production of ketamine are illegal unless authorized for medical, scientific or industrial purposes.
IF YOU NEED HELP
Drug: help and reference – www.aidedrogue.ca – 1 800 265-2626
