Drug dealers and smugglers in Costa Rica are diversifying their drug portfolios to include Ketamine, Ketamina in Spanish, a club drug better known for its use in veterinary medicine as a horse tranquilizer. Dealers have discovered that “Special K”, or “El Gato” as it is known in Costa Rica, is very affordable, easy to transport, can be taken easily in pill or liquid form, and perhaps most appealing – can be slipped undetected into someone’s beverage or cocktail – it is tasteless. This veterinary drug makes you barking high for about one hour, but its adverse effects last for up to 24 hours. It is designated a Class III controlled substance in the US.
Since 2017, Costa Rican authorities have observed a sharp increase in the sale and use of Ketamine, which follows a gradual increase over the previous four years. In February of 2017, the PCD, Drug Police, broke up a gang specializing in Ketamine, operating out of Purral de Goicoechea, San Jose. In July of 2018, a bus driver was detained in San Jose, suspected of drug trafficking, and was found to have 167 units of Ketamine in his bus. It is an easy drug to deal and make a profit from – one gram of Special K is worth 5,000 colones, just under $10.00.
In veterinary medicine, Ketamine is used mainly for starting and maintaining anesthesia. It induces a trance-like state, while providing pain relief and sedation. It is the most widely used anesthesia in veterinary medicine, and veterinary clinics in Costa Rica have reported an uptick in break-ins and theft by criminals looking for quantities of the drug.
In the 1990s in the USA, Ketamine was considered a hot club drug, and was often abused as a date rape drug. The biggest problem with Ketamine is that it produces anterograde amnesia, meaning that people are unable to remember who gave them the drug once they are sober.
The medical advantage of Ketamine is that it does not need refrigeration and has minimal effect on respiratory function, meaning that patients don’t need oxygen during surgery. It is the ideal drug for medics operating under difficult conditions, for instance, the jungles of Vietnam. Navy Seal medics always carry it in their pockets to relieve pain, and make wounded patients more manageable.
As a recreational drug, Ketamine belongs in a class of drugs known as dissociative anesthetics. It makes a person feel detached from sensations and surroundings, described as the sensation of floating, known on the street as being in the “K Hole”. Users describe an abrupt high, a euphoric LSD-like feeling which lasts about an hour. Problems of co-ordination and judgement, however, can last up to 24 hours.
Drug enforcement officials in Costa Rica are just getting up to speed in the rapid rise of Ketamine’s popularity as a street drug, and police officers are now being trained in how to identify the drug, and how to recognize someone high on “El Gato”.