‘Ketamine is the new cocaine’

‘Ketamine is the new cocaine’

19 January, 2009 | 8.31AM

• Written by: Zack Rico
• Filed under: Music News:

British newspaper The Independent last Thursday published a report by the charity DrugScope which suggests that use of the drug ketamine increased in the country by 10 per cent in 2008.

It even goes so far as to claim that “ketamine is increasingly replacing cocaine as the substance of choice among Britain’s recreational drug users.”

The Independent attributes the growth in ketamine use to its relatively low cost - a gram of the horse tranquilizer costs around £20, half as much as a gram of cocaine - and the fact it is currently ranked as a ‘class C drug’ by authorities (the same class as cannabis), meaning possession of ketamine is unlikely to lead to a criminal conviction.

However, a survey carried out by Professor David Nutt, the chairman of the Government’s drug advisory panel, claims ketamine is more harmful than both Ecstasy and cannabis.

The newspaper notes that in Britain, ketamine was linked to 23 deaths between 1993 and 2006.

Although sometimes those ‘links’ are unsubstantiated, as drugs found in a person’s bloodstream at the point of death are listed as a ‘cause of death’ on British death certificates even when there is no proof that the drug was a direct cause.

[Source: The Independent]

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