DRUG RAISES ALARM BELLS AMONG OFFICIALS

On the streets it's known as Special K. But this is no breakfast
cereal.

Special K, Kenny Gee, Cat Vallium, K and Vitamin K are just a few of
the names ketamine hides behind.

But behind the mask, there is nothing attractive about ketamine, say
local authorities. It is nothing less than a dangerous drug.

The RCMP, Vernon School District and the Interior Health Authority are
hoping to spread more awareness among today's youth on ketamine.

The drug is not as readily available in the community as marijuana or
cocaine, for example. But it does surface every so often at parties,
bars and other social scenes.

"It's started popping up a bit more," said Jered Dennis, a youth urban
outreach counsellor with IHA's alcohol and drug services.

"From the youth I've talked with, it's readily available at
parties.

"I don't see ketamine as being an epidemic, but it's a substance that
people aren't aware of and so they're not aware of what the potential
side effects and risks are," said Dennis.

Ketamine is legally a dissociative anesthetic used mainly in
veterinarian medicine (for example it's used to tranquilize cats for
surgery).

But in humans, its side effects have made it a popular
psychedelic.

At high doses, users may experience what is coined the k-hole, where
the real world seems distant and they are not aware of their
surroundings - almost a sedative feeling.

It's this feeling that has ketamine used in drug-facilitated sexual
assaults. Because under the influence a person can become unconscious
or unable to move, they may be unable to respond to an attack.

Like GHB or Rohypnol (commonly known as date rape drugs), ketamine is
known to be slipped into victim's drinks and since it is odourless and
tasteless it cannot be detected.

Doug Rogers, Vernon School District's substance abuse prevention
counsellor, warns: "Don't leave your drink unattended, don't drink out
of the punch bowl and don't take a drink from someone."

Rogers says he is hearing more about the use of ketamine in the
community and among students, whether it is being taken intentionally
or not.

"When I start hearing about it here that's when I know it's bad and
'hey, we've got to do something.'"

A major concern is that in high doses, ketamine can be
fatal.

"It's the kind of thing that if you take too much your heart goes to
sleep," said Rogers.

Dennis adds that it takes very little to overdose on
ketamine.

"Someone who does cocaine may try it but since they're used to more
(snorting bigger lines) they may figure they need more to get high."

But the more they take, the higher their chance of overdose is as
ketamine is stronger than the same amount of say speed or coke.

An even greater concern about ketamine, and all drugs, is that no one
really knows what they're getting.

"You don't know what's in it or what it's mixed with," said Sheri
Bentley, the RCMP's school liaison officer.

This can be particularly dangerous among adolescents, at the age of
testing and thrill seeking.

If youth aren't educated, they won't realize that the effect of the
drug they're taking is not the effect they intended on having.

"I've heard of it being sold as E (ecstasy) in capsules. People
thinking that they're taking E and all of a sudden becoming comatose,"
said Dennis, also warning that it can be particularly dangerous when
combined with downers, such as alcohol.

Ketamine is also relatively cheap at approximately $5 to $10 for
what's termed a 'bump.'

"When there's a lot of it out there it's cheap," said
Rogers.

"That's what makes it so accessible to almost everyone."

Another attractive side to the drug is that it's not detectable by
odour.

"Parents don't think their kids are under the influence of anything
because they don't smell it," said Shannon McCarthy with IHA's alcohol
and drug services.

"They use it similarly to alcohol in that they get intoxicated and
they don't get caught but the risk of overdose is so much greater,"
said McCarthy.

Youth generally won't say anything either, because they're scared of
getting in trouble.

McCarthy suggests parents look for signs such as dilated pupils,
slurred speech, disorientation, sweating and nausea. Signs of overdose
include vomiting and convulsions.

But most importantly, parents are urged to talk to and educate their
kids on the drug.

"We can't stop the drugs from coming in but we can try and stop our
kids from doing it," said McCarthy.