By Dennis Oda, Star-Bulletin
Ed Howard, supervising investigator with the state Narcotics
Enforcement Office, shows the “date rape” drug Ketamine
Hydrocloride in an injection and powder form. It is used by
veterinarians on animals, but is starting to be used
as a “date rape” drug.

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State drug officials
on the lookout for
ketamine

The latest 'in' drug
is an anesthetic that can be used
as a 'date rape pill'

By Debra Barayuga
Star-Bulletin

State drug enforcement officials are on alert for an animal anesthetic with effects similar to so-called "date rape pills."

Officials say they've heard the anesthetic is available at certain clubs or "rave" parties frequented by teen-agers and young adults.

Ketamine hydrochloride -- legally marketed as an anesthetic for animals and humans -- has emerged on the mainland at such parties, where "in" drugs are easily accessible. Mainland teens have been found in possession of the drug in 1-inch plastic bags or paper or tin foil folds.

No reports of people abusing ketamine -- known by its street name as Special K or Bump -- have surfaced here, but state narcotics officials don't want to take any chances.

"I can assure you, every time we have a drug problem on the mainland, it comes here," said Ed Howard, supervising investigator with the state narcotics enforcement division.

"I think it's just a matter of time that we see it."

When snorted or ingested, Ketamine causes euphoria and memory lapses and can knock people unconscious, making them vulnerable to sexual assault, Howard said.

The effects range from dreamlike, floating states to delirium. "It's a very powerful hallucinogenic, with a type of reaction similar to LSD," Howard said.

As with other drugs in the "date rape" category -- including rohypnol and gamma hydroxybuterate -- ketamine "has the ability to affect the person in a way where they're not in control of themselves," Howard said. "All these drugs can be used to take advantage of a victim."

The high from ketamine lasts a half-hour to an hour but is very intense, Howard said. Users repeat the dosage until they achieve the "high" they're seeking.

Ketamine may become habit-forming, Howard said. It has been found to cause physical withdrawals in animals.

Ketamine is produced through legitimate drug manufacturing companies. Ninety percent is distributed for veterinary use, with 10 percent for use on humans.

Its use on humans has declined because of adverse side effects and the introduction of other anesthetics.

It enters the streets through people who have access to the drug during manufacturing and employees at wholesale drug companies or veterinarian offices. "It's certainly more controlled but you still can get it," Howard said.

Ketamine is not a controlled substance at the federal level. But it is a Schedule 3 controlled substance in California, Connecticut, New Mexico and Oklahoma. Abuse of these drugs can lead to dependence.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is looking into reports of increasing abuse of ketamine on the mainland and is considering whether to impose controls, said Rogene Waite, Drug Enforcement Administration spokeswoman in Washington, D.C.

In a bill moving through the state Legislature, narcotics officials are pushing to have ketamine added to the list of Schedule 4 drugs, which include mostly low-grade depressants such as Valium. Scheduling would allow officials to prosecute people caught for possession or distribution of a controlled substance.

"This is a preventive thing. Based on intelligence information we've received and based on what's happening on the mainland, we want to be prepared," Howard said.

But critics of more laws imposing criminal penalties on those who use or possess illegal drugs say there is no evidence that such laws reduce drug use.

"Although it makes politicians feel good, they have no data to show that accomplishes anything except contribute to the prison population," said Donald Topping, director of the University of Hawaii Social Science Research Institute.