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(GIST OF SCIENCE REPORTER) Ketamine

(JANUARY-2024)

Ketamine is an anaesthetic that has been listed as a hallucinogen by the US Drug Enforcement
Administration.
It’s referred to as a “dissociative anaesthetic hallucinogen” because it creates a feeling of detachment from pain and the environment.
In the US, ketamine was first used as an anaesthetic for animals in the 1960s.
Around a decade later, the US Food and Drug Administration approved it for humans.
The drug’s use for treating depression and other mental illnesses is recent.
Owing to its powerful effects, ketamine is consumed by those patients who haven’t responded to traditional therapies.
Ketamine is also used as a recreational drug, popularly known as K or Special K among club goers.