KETAMINE HYDROCHLORIDE FAQ PAGE
The following is an early draft of a FAQ concerning recreational use of
Ketamine Hydrochloride.  The authors of this FAQ in no way condone or
suggest the use of Ketamine in anyway contrary to its intended use nor do
they condone any illegal behaviors.  The following was compiled from
reference information and the anecdotes of those who have used Ketamine and
is neither considered to be without flaw nor is it intended to be a guide to
use, and the authors are not responsible in anyway for misinterpretations
 or misuse of Ketamine as a result of reading this material.  This
information may be shared as an educational document provided this
disclaimer is included and the contents of the FAQ are delivered intact.
*****WARNING: In the rave and club scene these days, especially in Europe, a
substance is often sold under the names of Special K or Ketamine.  This
substance more often than not is Ketamine mixed with several other drugs,
among which may be heroin, coke, or ecstasy.  Any combination of drugs with
ketamine is extremely dangerous and has minimum psychedelic value.  The
following FAQ is concerned only with use of pure Ketamine Hydrochloride and
any major deviations in experience contrary to this listing often involve
use of mixed substances.  It is strongly encouraged that Ketamine or Speci
al K not be obtained, and especially not used in club settings. *****
Drug:   Ketamine Hydrochloride
Street
Names:  K, Ket, Ketamine, Special K, Vitamin K

Brief:  Ketamine is an anaesthetic used primarily for veterinary purposes.
Ketamine blocks nerve paths without depressing respiratory and
circulatory functions, and therefore acts as a safe and reliable
anaesthetic.  It is commonly injected intramuscularly, but can also be
taken orally and nasal pharyngealically.  Ketamine is only available to
physicians, and is not commonly sold as an illicit drug, and is
scheduled in several states.  The most common trade name for
Ketamine are Ketaset and Ketalar, which are intramuscular
veterinary Ketamine HCls.
Chemistry:      2-(2-Chlorophenyl1)-(methylamino)-cyclohexanone hydrochloride
 M.W. - 274.2 C13H16CINO-HCL
 LD50 (IPR-MUS): 400 mg/kg, LD50 (IVN-MUS): 77 mg/kg.
 white solid - melting point 266*C - non-flammable.
 Solubility: water 20g/100ml
 
References:     Merck Index, 11th Ed., No. 5174
 Anis, N.A., Berry, S.C., Burton, N.R., Lodge, D. "The dissociative
anaesthetics, ketmine and phencyclidine, selevtively reduce excitation
of central mammalian neurones by N-methyl aspartate." Br. J.
Pharmacol 79, 565 (1983).
Psychedelic Indications:
 Ketamine does not treat music so well.  Expect a narrowing of your
auditory bandwidth.  Music will sound neat but not correct and not
transcending.  You will selectively lose frequencies.  Use mellow music with
a psychedelic flavor, and keep the volume less than loud because your
perception of overall volume will increase.  Visual hallucinations are most
notable in low light.  Touch is exceptional.  Smells and tastes will be
nulled.  Do not expect to talk, although you may.  Expect general reflection
but not exceptional emotionality.
Dosage: Due to its anaesthetic nature, K can produce wide ranging effects from
different amounts.  There seems to be a crucial line where the patient
will lose grasp of his/her primary senses, and this will be termed a
Line Dose.  A further line exists where the patient will lose complete
consciousness.  In general, boosting is not adequate and it does not
seem worthwhile to boost the original dose more than ten minutes
after initial dose.  General tolerance is appreciable and several weeks
between uses are required to return to original tolerance.  For most
types, effects are linear with dose, and good experience can be had at
low dosages.
Oral Dose:
 A Line Dose is about 2.0 mg/lb. body mass.  Anaesthetic doses are
above 4.0 mg/lb.  A maximum oral dose of 3 mg/lb. should be set for
adequate recovery.  Above line dose, increasing doses yield little
psychedelic advantage except for greater temporary memory loss.  A
good first dose is 300-350 mg for average weight woman, and 350-375
mg for average weight men.  A minimum dose of 150-175 mg will give
a good psychedelic experienxe.
IM Dose:
 Intramuscular doses begin at perhaps .4 mg/lb. for a Line Dose.
Anaesthetic doses to IM are about 1 mg/lb.  Two injections should be
made instead of one.  Sterility of the bottle and needle are imperative.
100 mg seems to be a good IM dose for everyone.  Expect soreness in
the injection region for several days or weeks.
IV Dose:
 I do not recommend IV doses but have read reports of successful IV
dosing.  In the IV case you will probably lose motor control before you
finish injecting so beware.
Nasal Dose:
Nasal doses are highly unlinear next to oral and IM doses.  The effects
are quite different as well at low doses.  At Line Doses, oral
consumption is probably a better bet than nasal doses.  A Line Dose
nasally would again be about 1.8-2.0 mg/lb.  A minimum dose nasally
would be about 1 mg/lb, but will be short and much different from a
comparable oral dose.  200 mg would be a good starter for most
weights.  Ketamine is relatively comfortable in the nasal region.
Prep:   IV and IM require fully sterile Ket bottle and needle.  Powder for
nasal use can be gotten from gentle boiling off of solution.  To prepare
an oral dose from a powder, place powder in a cup and pour about 1
cm of hot water (tap should be ok) in it and stir to solution.  Fill
remainder of cup with an acid such as orange juice.
Setting:
 As with all anaesthetics, Ketamine will make the patient nauseaous to
varying degrees, directly related to dosage.  Therefore, the patient
should find him/herself in a place where he/she can stay for several
hours, with most ammenities close at hand (any movement will
compound nauseau).  A non-Ketting person is a great help, and will
be fun to talk to, and convenient for changing music, etc.  Darkness
will eliminate some very strange visual experiences.  Music is very
powerful.  Warmth can also be important, as although your
respiratory system will not be depressed, you may become cold from
inactivity.  A blanket is a good idea.  Dope should be handy for
nauseau, and a bucket should be available as a precaution.  Vomitting
should be rare, but in the case, it is not a good idea to have to travel to
the bathroom.  You should try to make sure that your co-trippers
start when you do, as it is a rapid starting drug.  Nasal doses can
usually accomodate real scenes, i.e. clubs or company, but expect
things to be very strange.
Timing: Taken intramuscularly, Ketamine will bring you up quickly in less
than two minutes.  Orally, with a medium-full stomach, expect 15-20
minutes, and as little as five minutes on an empty stomach.  Nasal
doses allow 5-10 minutes.  The acceleration is great but not alarming.
Expect to be semi-unconscious on a Line-Dose for about an hour
intramuscualrly, and slightly longer when taken orally.  You will come
down quickly as well past the first line, and will begin to assimilate
senses over about an half-hour.  When taken orally, a soft trip will
linger for approximately 2-3 hours after that and can be lots of fun.
You will feel light, lanky, and queasy for several hours, and may be
somewhat light-headed, though not incapacable the following day.
Nitrous has had success in bringing Ketamine down quickly, despite
its anaesthetic nature.
The Trip:
 Before reaching the first line, fragmentation will occur- the world will
begin to spin, but it won't be dizzying.  Music will become
fragmented.  Chaos will ensue.  At some point, you will find yourself
complete removed from your surroundings and your body.
Descriptions of the post-line experience vary substantially, but most
include talk of alternate planes of existence, oneness, past and future
revelations, and strange fabrics of all sorts.  It will be very difficult to
communicate at this point, and you probably will not be able to see or
hear others in the room.  Some revelations will be extremely heavy
and some scary, but that fear does not seem to come back with you
and is therefore difficult to describe as scary.  You will probably find
yourself coming back across the line again visibly, attempting to put
an object in focus or define it.  It is at this point that you will likely
want to get in touch with your co-trippers.  This is the "Wow" period.
It is very important here that you do not try to move for awhile.  The
trip will continue mildly for an hour or so after this, with more
conventional focuses.
Precautions:
An overdose of Ketamine will knock you out as if in an operating
room.  This would prove to be a waste of a tripping experience, and
will probably make you ill to your stomach.  The danger dosage is
much higher however, at 10 mg/lb.  Interactively, Ketamine should
not be used with respiratory depressants, primarily alcohol,
barbituates, and Valium.  Ketamine has been used with no ill
interactive effects with dope, acid, nitrous, dextromethorphan, and
MDMA, although no combinations are recommended and are highly
unnecessary given the totality of ketamine.  It does not have a build-
on effect with halucinagins and will generally overpower other drugs.
Nitrous in the up and down periods can be effective.  Unpracticed
trippers may be overpowered by the awesome revelations of Ketamine
and may be somewhat overwhelmed, although in general fear seems to
be unable to compound here (such as in an LSD trip or with other
drug paranoias) and will probably be only episodic.  Food should not
be consumed within an hour and one-half before the trip, and should
be avoided for longer periods of time if possible.  A peculiar sort of
loneliness can occur over the line, so it is a good idea to stay in close
quarters with people you are close with, and best to have a sober
monitor or experienced Ketter at hand.
Trips by Dose
  Doses that do not push one over the consciousness line can be very fun
if you get close.  In general, a 150 mg minimum would be required to
realize an effect.  Under that amount, you will only feel a very
operable up and down over about an half-hour that will give you no
insight into Ketamine.  At higher doses, the up will last longer, but in
less than linear fashion.  In general it seems that oral doses last longer.
Trips over 450 mg. can be severe on the stomach and have rapidly
diminishing returns over lower doses, and are therefore not
recommended, although 450 mg. itself is a very sound and powerful
trip.
Reports:
 A number of sources claim Vitamin K to be a boring drug.  Some
complain that it removes you so completely from your body that it is
difficult to even work with.  Others have found Vit K to be very potent and
shapable, an experience that can be tailormade by dosage and setting.  There
is little question that there is no comparable experience on any other
drugs.  Most agree that it has a good to very good recovery with little
negative effect on the following day and mild hangover.  Setting is agreed
to be crucial.  Most agree that Ketamin not be used by inexperienced
trippers unless they want a complete out-of-body experience that is sure to
change their life.