KETAMINE OVERDOSE WORRIES POLICE

Tranquilizing Medication Can Also Be Used As a Date-Rape Drug, Warn
Gabriola RCMP

Gabriola Mounties are worried about the appearance of the drug
ketamine -- also used as a horse tranquillizer -- on the island after
a man apparently overdosed on the hard-hitting narcotic.

Friends of a man who they believed had overdosed on the drug called
911 late last month, said Const. Mike Reid.

The man was treated on scene by paramedics but refused transport to
the hospital. He told police he was using ketamine, said Reid.

Police have heard rumours about ketamine use on the island prior to
this call, but haven't actually encountered the drug until now. Even
Nanaimo RCMP say they don't run into the narcotic often.

"It is confirmed through that incident it is here, and we've been
hearing it's certainly a popular (drug) to be using among youth," he
said. "We don't know when it came here, maybe it's been here for a
while."

Considering that ketamine -- also known as Special K -- can be used as
a date rape drug, Reid encourages Gabriola parents to talk to their
kids about the dangers of ketamine use.

This isn't a main stream street drug, said Nanaimo addictions
counsellor Rick Smith.

It appeals to a certain type of person, who may want a feeling of
escape.

"Used as an illegal drug, people are not so much getting high they're
getting out of their heads," said Smith, adding ketamine is popular
drug at raves.

RCMP in Campbell River expressed similar concerns about the drug in
the fall of 2008 after two teens overdosed and had to be rushed to
hospital.

One teen was found unconscious on the side of the highway in what
police described as "a catatonic state."

Nanaimo RCMP spokesperson Const. Sue Phillips said police from that
detachment don't often encounter the drug in the city.

"We haven't been encountering it in Nanaimo, but I heard in other
communities it's becoming more prevalent," she said.