Is Ketamine Legal? | The Legal Status Of Ketamine

Ketamine, also called ket, kit kat, special k, cat valium, and vitamin k is a dissociative anesthetic and psychedelic club drug with a surprising range of effects when used at different dosages.

While ketamine’s potential for abuse and risk of harmful short- and long-term health effects is lower than many other substances of abuse, it remains a harmful and potentially deadly drug outside of medical context. 

Is Ketamine Legal?

Ketamine is only legal when used in a licensed and approved medical or veterinary setting.

Possession and recreational use of ketamine is illegal in the United States.

The criminal charges and penalties involved in ketamine possession depend on: 

• the amount of the drug involved
• your criminal history
• what you intended to do with the drug 
• the state you live in 

Penalties are more severe for those who sell the drug, or who use it as a date rape drug to aid in committing sexual assault.

How Is Ketamine Classified?

Ketamine is classified by the FDA as a Schedule III drug, according to the United States Controlled Substances Act.

Schedule III substances have valid medical uses, and their potential for abuse is lower than the abuse potentials found in Schedule I and II drugs. However, if abused, Schedule III substances may still trigger some form of physical or psychological dependence.

What Is Ketamine Used For?

Ketamine is a general anesthetic that is most often used by veterinarians to reduce or block pain during operations on animals. 

Ketamine treatment is also used for pain relief or sedation for children and adults in emergency departments. 

In lower doses, ketamine is also sometimes used as an antidepressant to treat mental health disorders including treatment-resistant depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.

What Does Illegal Ketamine Look Like?

Black market ketamine is most often presented as a fine white powder or liquid. It is most often snorted. However, it can also be taken as a pill, mixed into drinks, injected, or smoked.

What Does Legal Ketamine Look Like?

In medical and veterinary settings, ketamine is usually a liquid solution though it may be administered as a nasal spray (esketamine) to treat severe depression and other mental health disorders.

Where Does Illegal Ketamine Come From?

Ketamine is generally too complex and not valuable enough to be produced illegally in the United States like crystal meth.

Instead, ketamine is most often diverted to the black market from legitimate sources like medical centers and veterinary clinics, often in Mexico. The drug is then smuggled into the United States where it is used as a common drug of abuse at music festivals, raves, and nightclubs.

As with all illicit drugs, black-market supplies of ketamine may be diluted or adulterated with other compounds, including other drugs, with unpredictable and potentially harmful outcomes. 

Ketamine may also be used to impersonate or adulterate other hallucinogens, like LSD or PCP, or other white powder drugs. 

What Are The Effects of Ketamine Abuse?

Ketamine’s effects change dramatically depending on the dose administered. 

Low Doses

In low doses, the drug provides a high that lasts between thirty minutes to an hour with effects that include: 

• mild euphoria
• relaxation
• a feeling of connection with the world around you
• separation between your body and mind
• altered senses

High Doses

In higher doses, the drug may cause a range of effects known as a k-hole. Effects and side-effects often include psychosis, paralysis, nausea and vomiting, heavy dissociation, amnesia, blood pressure, and heart rate changes, and cardiovascular depression.

These dissociative effects make ketamine a potent date rape drug.

If you or a loved one struggles with substance abuse, a professional treatment program may be able to help. To learn more, please contact us today.