14 DAY TRIAL // Cocaine has been outsmarted in the classy circles of the British wealthy and young elite, a recent undercover story by the Daily Mail reveals. Paradoxically, it’s not a “higher classed” drug that has achieved such a feat, but the “dissociative anaesthetic” invented by the Americans in 1962 to aid Vietnam victims, and which is now mostly used to tranquilize horses – ketamine. Use of this C classed drug is soaring in the UK, and it’s among the richest and apparently more dignified that it’s now causing a genuine hysteria.
The Daily Mail story reveals that, while a couple of years ago, ketamine was the kick of choice for hardcore clubbers alone, its use has now tripled in just ten years, and is constantly on the rise among Britain’s upper classes. Most of these users consider it a party must-have, despite its anaesthetic effect, when consumed in larger doses, which makes speaking, standing and all other physical actions almost impossible to perform. With all this, party goers say cocaine has just been upgraded with no possibility of ever going back.
“I'd been doing cocaine for years and needed a new buzz,” Sienna tells the Mail. “I didn't need much persuasion to try K. It was love at first snort. It's great fun and a completely different high to anything else. It's like an out-of-body experience that sends you a little bit crazy. Now I always keep a spare bag at home with a bottle of Rioja,” the 32-year-old adds, laughing out loud at the prospect of spending two years in jail if arrested for possession. She, just like the others the Mail got to speak with, is beyond caring about anything at this point.
Considered by users the “perfect staying in drug,” the side effects of ketamine are often disregarded, if not altogether unknown. What it does to the body is described by the Mail piece as “ugly” and “terrifying to watch.” When used in small amounts, it can induce a boost of energy but, once tolerance to it builds up, larger and larger quantities are consumed. Their effects are far from energizing, including tripping to a “K-hole,” where all contact with the outside world is lost, the senses are suspended, and the user is numb and paralyzed, despite being completely aware of their surroundings.
The most common mistake as to ketamine use, the Mail piece reveals, is that users believe it’s not addictive. The premise that it was developed for medical purposes is mistaken, doctors warn, and its use in hospitals was discontinued for this specific reason, namely that its side-effects were too serious to be ignored. Heavy users, for instance, can experience paranoia, anxiety, delusions and hallucinations months after the drug leaves their body to never come back. “It is certainly addictive. People end up very isolated, as they dedicate all their time to finding it and doing it. Heavy users can lose their job and relationships, and get into huge debt as they need more and more,” Dr. Simon Kelly from the famous The Priory rehab center tells the Mail.
