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In April 2020, officials from Sri Lanka’s Police Narcotics Bureau and Navy displayed packages containing ketamine and crystal methamphetamine that were captured off the coast of Colombo. A recent study has raised concerns about a significant increase in the street use of ketamine in the United States.
May 24 (UPI) — A study conducted by researchers from New York University and the University of Florida, which was released on Wednesday, reveals dramatic increases in the illegal seizure of ketamine by law enforcement between 2017 and last year. The findings have sparked concerns about a possible surge in recreational use of the drug. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, highlights the rise in illegal ketamine seizures and its potential implications.
The study, led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine and the National Drug Early Warning System at the University of Florida, discovered a 349% increase in illicit ketamine seizures by drug enforcement agencies across the United States from 2017 to 2022.
Ketamine, a short-acting dissociative anesthetic, is commonly prescribed off-label for chronic pain and depression. The study suggests that there is likely to be an increase in individuals using the drug recreationally or unknowingly.
Researchers express concern that the influx of illegal ketamine means users are likely to consume adulterated and potentially hazardous versions of the drug.
“Unlike illegal ketamine from years ago, the majority of illegally obtained ketamine today is not pharmaceutical grade and is sold in powder form, which may increase the risk of it being mixed with other drugs such as fentanyl,” said study author Joseph Palamar in a news release.
Joseph Palamar is an associate professor in the Department of Population Health at NYU Langone Health and a researcher at the Center for Drug Use and HIV/HCV Research at NYU School of Global Public Health.
He added, “Unintentional exposure to fentanyl can lead to overdose.”
The study points out that the loosening of U.S. prescribing practices during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed more patients to access telemedicine services for essential medications. While this benefited many patients, it also resulted in the emergence of pop-up clinics offering online and off-label prescriptions for ketamine for various mental health conditions with inadequate side effect monitoring.
Although the risk of overdose from ketamine alone is low, the study warns that some users may experience dissociative side effects, such as dizziness or nausea.
A major concern raised by Palamar is that illegal ketamine can easily be contaminated with the much more dangerous fentanyl and is already being found mixed with heroin and cocaine.
In law enforcement seizures between 2017 and 2022, the amount of ketamine captured increased from 127 pounds in 2017 to approximately 1,550 pounds in 2022.
Palamar hopes that these findings will contribute to the development of better prevention and harm reduction strategies to protect the public from increased exposure to illegal ketamine.
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