But as ketamine rises in popularity, organised crime groups are importing dangerous chemical copies of the drug."You also feel a bit more energised, a bit more focused," he adds.
And the more ketamine a user takes, the more likely they are to end up in what's known as a 'k-hole'. Wastewater testing by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission also shows illegal use of ketamine reached a record high in 2023. "Once these drugs hit our streets, whether it's through the letterbox, the mail stream, the airstream, we've lost that battle.Despite the risk of a 'k-hole', he feels he's more in control using ketamine compared to other drugs like MDMA or cocaine."It's about $200 to $300 for a bag, and you only really need to do little bumps, so you can split that cost between three or four people," he says.
Then there are the 'chemical cousins' of ketamine — close chemical copies of the drug synthesised to mimic its effects, known as analogues."There is an emergence of drugs that is a concern to our agencies here in Australia, across the Commonwealth and states and territories," Assistant Commissioner Hudson says.Ketamine analogues also do not show up in wastewater testing.
" said they had ketamine, they had the same amount they usually had, but they passed out in a bush vomiting all over themselves."But since being discovered, CanKet samples have showed up at CanTEST almost every month.