Ketamine drug use 'harms memory'

[steven johnson]

'Special K' -- ketamine, which is a common rave club drug has been shown to have a serious set of adverse consequences. Previous research has suggested the drug may cause kidney and bladder damage. Now further research shows persistent memory problems and delusions. It's the drug that keeps on giving.

Frequent use of ketamine - a drug popular with clubbers - is being linked with memory problems, researchers say.

They found frequent users performed poorly on skills such as recalling names, conversations and patterns.

Researchers found the frequent users group performed significantly worse on the memory tests - in some they made twice as many errors.

However, all groups of ketamine users showed evidence of unusual beliefs or mild delusions, such as conspiracy theories, the psychological questionnaires showed.

Ketamine drug use 'harms memory'

[valerief]

1. So ketamine use makes you believe irrational things but you tend to forget them anyway.

Now where did I put my keys? I think there are invisible elves in my house hiding things.

[Yehonala]

4. Gnomes?

"I think there are invisible elves in my house hiding things."

I did see some underpants gnomes (thank you South Park) stealing my unders. Either that or the *grin* ex ghost I dumped ages ago? i

[valerief]

5. No. I'm not a gnome person. I'm an elf person. Besides, gnomes are outdoors.

Elves are indoors.

Everyone knows that!!!!!

:think: :silly: :think: :silly: :think: :silly: :think:

[kestrel91316]

2. I can't imagine practicing on cats without it - it's the cornerstone of my

sedation/light anesthesia regimen. GREAT drug, but always used in combination with others to mitigate its side effects.

[pscot]

6. Do you take it yourself

or give it to the cats? Enquiring minds, and all that.

[kestrel91316]

8. I give it to the cats. I gives people a famously BAD trip. But I have to

admit, if I were to dip into any of my drug stores it would be the injectable Valium. Probably a good thing I'm afraid of needles.........

[Atticus]

3. "unusual beliefs", "delusions", "conspiracy theories"---Ketamine is undoubtedly

the "official drug" of the GOP.

[juno jones]

7. Interesting but I would ask-

I'm sure frequent users of a drug such as ketamine have most likely been doing other drugs as well, so it's not exactly a double-blind study going on here. What else are they doing frequently?

How frequent is frequent? I doubt anyone sane would consider ketamine safe if you dosed it daily.

And as far as the club scene being into CT's, well I think it's built into the culture, not the drugs per se.

edit to add: I'm not diputing the findings. Just curious.