DESIGNER DRUG WAS MOTIVE FOR KILLING

Ketamine At Heart Of Yorkville Murder

When a man was fatally stabbed in a Yorkville laneway last winter, the
incident was considered a sign of the times, a signal that random weeknight
violence had crept even into a tony shopping district.

This week, it became clear the attack marked another undercurrent in
Toronto, namely the widespread use of designer drugs. One such drug, called
ketamine, provided the motive that night for both a string of robberies and
the killing.

Ketamine is an anaesthetic that is used on both humans and animals. Its
street names include "K" and "special K."

It is not nearly as popular as other drugs such as Ecstasy and GHB, but
observers say it is also a more recent addition to Toronto's nightlife.

Toronto police Detective Rick Chase said ketamine is now relatively cheap
and widely available.

On Jan. 31, 2000, the night sound technician John Garrish was stabbed to
death, his attackers had taken both ketamine and marijuana. The night they
attacked Mr. Garrish, they were trying to get money to buy more drugs.

Earlier this week, two men pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. A third
still faces a charge of manslaughter.

Those familiar with the city's electronic music scene say ketamine became
popular in Toronto a couple of years ago. Many think its use is now waning.

While it is found at veterinary clinics in liquid form, it is often a
powder when it arrives on the street. A vial could cost $20 to $30, but
many users would take only part of a vial in a night. Police have also
found ketamine in tablet form.

It is sometimes mixed with other drugs, and is occasionally described as a
date-rape drug that can be slipped into drinks.

One electronic music fan noted that while GHB has made it on to the
television show ER, and Ecstasy has been used on Dawson's Creek and
Beverley Hills 90210, ketamine has not become sufficiently popular to
warrant a prime-time plot.

A 21-year-old university student who used ketamine regularly for much of
last year said the experience is similar to being drunk, but users feel
detached from their bodies.

That detached feeling can make it difficult to walk, he said.

He became bored with the drug, as did other users he knew. "It's not a
stimulant, just a depressant."

A 1999 news release by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said
ketamine's effects range from a "state of dreamy intoxication to delirium
accompanied by the inability to move, feel pain or remember what has occurred."

A study conducted by St. Michael's Hospital in 1999 found that of the
designer-drug users arriving at the emergency department, 40% had taken
GHB, 18% had taken Ecstasy, 6.5% methamphetamine and 5% ketamine.

In 1999, ketamine was made a controlled substance in the United States.
While it is a prescription drug in Canada, Det. Chase said he has heard
there will soon be a move to make it a controlled substance as well. That
would place more restrictions on the drug.