A white powder sample was brought to CanTEST for testing, expected to contain ketamine. The sample was found to contain both methamphetamine (40% free base purity) and ketamine (34% free base purity).

What does this mean?

Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic, while methamphetamine is a stimulant. If you were expecting to only consume ketamine, the presence of methamphetamine means the effects could be different from what you anticipated. Stimulants can increase heart rate, blood pressure and alertness, whereas ketamine causes dissociation and mild cardiovascular stimulation. The combination of these two drugs may lead to an unpredictable experience, especially if you’re unaware of the stimulant content.

Effects

Unexpected methamphetamine consumption may alter the effects you were expecting from ketamine. Since ketamine’s effects tend to last 1-2 hours, but methamphetamine can last much longer (4-12+ hours), you may feel unexpectedly alert, restless, or unable to sleep. This could lead to redosing, thinking ketamine has worn off when in reality, methamphetamine is still active.

Reducing the harm

Test your stuff! – While it is not unusual for CanTEST to see ketamine adulterated with small amounts of methamphetamine and other stimulants, the amount in this sample has the potential to cause greater harm.

Start low, go slow. – Signs to be aware of include an unusually fast heart rate, agitation, difficulty sleeping, overheating, or anxiety. If you or someone else experience severe symptoms like chest pain, confusion, a sudden severe headache or signs of stimulant overdose – seek medical help immediately.

Think someone has overdoses? Call 000 for an ambulance.