India Fast Emerging Major Source of Party Drug Ketamine.

India is fast emerging as a major source of ketamine or party drug, traditionally used as an anaesthetic for animals, smuggled out by narcotics cartels due to its increasing popularity especially in Southeast Asia.

Known as the common man's cocaine, ketamine is becoming a hit among college students and the youth in many countries, sources in the country's anti-narcotics agencies said.

Though ketamine is not banned under the Narcotics Drugs Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, its export is highly regulated.

The Canadian Customs department had recently seized a whopping 100kg of ketamine smuggled into the country from India.

The seizure in the foreign country was made on the inputs given by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence.

Similarly another huge consignment of Ketamine was seized by an European country based on the inputs from here, the sources said.

Traditionally, ketamine has been used in the country as an anaesthetic drug for animals but is now making its way outside India.

Sources said there is a growing demand from foreign countries including Japan to put ketamine under the NDPS list. At present, the substance is freely found in the country including at many chemist shops.

However, to export it, one has to take a 'No Objection Certificate' from the office of the narcotics commissioner.

While the substance is priced at few thousands of rupees per kg, when smuggled out it goes for about Rs10 lakh per kg.

"The profit margin is huge. It is sold at about 100 times its price here and hence narcotics cartels are into this trade. Moreover unlike heroin and cocaine, Ketamine is cheaper and is supposed to give a high," a source said.

According to reports, Ketamine is hallucinogenic and people can experience unpleasant flashbacks even weeks after the drug has been eliminated from the body.

A serious intoxication can lead to acidosis--increased acidity in the blood, rhabdomyolysis- rapid breakdown of skeletal muscle, epileptic seizures, respiratory depression and cardiac arrest.

Source : dnaindia.com