Special K, Ket, or Kit Kat was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly taken at all-night raves — despite its sedating effects.
But its popularity slipped in the 2000s when it became a Schedule III drug in the UK and concerns were raised over side effects including hallucinations and, in rare cases, seizures.
Now, the drug is attracting fresh attention due to its role in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry, who was injected with ketamine 21 times in the week before he died.
The doctor accused of supplying the drug, which eventually killed him, told of disturbing details of the drug’s effect on the actor’s body — including seizures and ‘freezing up’, just days before his death.
Here, we reveal how the substance — now used in private clinics for its alleged anti-depressant effect — can wreak havoc on the body within an hour of taking even one large hit, leaving users paralysed, unable to breathe and choking on their own vomit.
Here, we reveal how the substance — now used in private clinics for its alleged anti-depressant effect — can wreak havoc on the body within an hour of taking one large hit, leaving users paralysed, unable to breathe and choking on their own vomit
The drug is attracting fresh attention due to its role in the death of Friends star Matthew Perry (pictured), who was supplied with ketamine up to six times a day in the week before he died
Even in low doses, long-term use can cause severe, irreversible damage to the bladder and kidneys, and excruciating abdominal pain — sometimes known as k-cramps.
Ketamine works as an anaesthetic by blocking the neurotransmitter N-methyl-D-aspartate (NDMA), which controls actions in the nervous system.
This can rapidly diminish sensations, prevent pain, induce sleep or even inhibit memory.
For this reason, it is usually taken in small doses for non-anaesthetic purposes, and large doses as an anaesthetic in a medical setting, such as before an operation.
At smaller doses, it gives users a feeling of euphoria, out-of-body experiences, and hallucinations.
If injected, ketamine’s effects can take control within just a minute. Users typically feel such effects within five to 15 minutes if snorted and half an hour if swallowed.
Snorting ketamine results in a more potent ‘rush’, may present a higher addiction risk and can damage the nasal passage.
While its effects — when taken in smaller doses — can last around an hour, a user’s coordination or senses may be affected for up to 24-hours after initial use.
Signs and symptoms of a ketamine overdose or toxicity can vary depending on how much Ket is consumed.
Typically, within a couple of minutes of taking the drug users experience an increase in heart rate and even palpitations.
At the same time, blood pressure drops over 10 to 20 minutes, resulting in a woozy and faint feeling. A dramatic quick drop acts as a key sign of an overdose or toxicity, which can happen with one, large dose.
Its numbing effect also makes users unresponsive more quickly.
When in this state, users experience involuntarily rapid eye movement, dilated pupils, and stiffening of the muscles such as them ‘freezing up’.
Its effect on muscle relaxation also suppresses the respiratory system, leading to sudden difficulty swallowing and making it harder for people to breathe.
This lack of oxygen, in turn, may even result in permanent brain damage.
Tolerance to the drug, which usually comes as a crystalline powder or liquid, recreationally is known to build quickly.
This leads to users needing more and more to feel the same high, which increases the risk of overdosing or experiencing adverse side effects.
Higher doses can also lead to a phenomenon dubbed the ‘k-hole’, an intense feeling of dissociation, delerium and being disconnected or unable to connect to reality.
Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28 by his live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa. His cause of death later determined to be ‘the acute effects of ketamine’. Pictured, Perry in August 2023, three months before his death
Special K, Ket, or Kit Kat (pictured), as it is also known, was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly taken at all-night raves
According to the Bristol Drugs Project, a drug and alcohol services charity, a heavy and potentially fatal dose is around 150mg, compared to a common dose of 30-75 mg.
Experts have long warned that although death from ketamine poisoning alone is rare, since paralysis is a side effect of taking the drug, if users start vomiting they are at risk of choking on their own vomit.
The shocking details of the days leading up to Matthew Perry’s death emerged on Thursday as Plascencia and four other alleged co-conspirators were arrested following a grand jury indictment.
Perry was found unresponsive in the hot tub of his LA home on October 28 by his live-in assistant Kenneth Iwamasa.
His cause of death later determined to be ‘the acute effects of ketamine’.
Iwamasa has since admitted being the one who administered the fatal doses to the actor, after being trained how to deliver them by Plascencia.
On October 4, Iwamasa reported that he had successfully injected Perry, noting that he ‘found the sweet spot but trying different places led to running out’ of ketamine.
The affidavit claims that Perry spent $55,000 on ketamine supplied by Plascencia in the two months before he died, and that Iwamasa injected Perry with 27 shots of ketamine in just five days.
‘Matthew Perry’s journey began with unscrupulous doctors who abused their position of trust because they saw him as a payday, to street dealers who gave him ketamine in unmarked vials‘, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said.
An autopsy found that the amount in Perry’s blood was in the range used for general anesthesia during surgery, and listed ‘the acute effects of ketamine’ as the primary cause of death.
Experts have long warned that rising ketamine use has been driven by both its affordability and availability.
It is thought to cost around £20 a gram compared to £40 a gram for MDMA and £100 for cocaine.
High profile endorsements, including Elon Musk who earlier this year revealed the drug was ‘helpful’ in getting him ‘out of a negative frame of mind’, may also be behind the rise, they have suggested.
Figures, released by the Office for National Statistics, show one in twenty (4.8 per cent) 20 to 24-year-olds in England and Wales last year admitted to taking the drug, more popular among men.
This compared to just 0.9 per cent across all age groups.
But campaigners have also called ketamine a ‘campus killer’, with it linked to dozens of student deaths over the past few years, according to the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths.
Ketamine is only licensed in the UK as an anaesthetic but can also be prescribed off-license as a pain killer. These versions are medical-grade and proven to be safe.
The class B drug is also increasingly being studied as a potential therapeutic for depression and PTSD.