Now, Prescription Mandatory To Sell Party Drug K.

NEW DELHI: Ketamine Hydrochloride, an injectible anesthetic drug for humans and often used by addicts, will not be sold openly anymore. The Drug Technical Advisory Board (DTAB) took this decision in its last meeting on October 10.

The drug is being placed under Schedule X of the Drugs and Cosmetic Rules. It will be available only with chemists, who have the licence to sell Schedule X drugs.

Chemists will have to keep this drug "with abuse potential" under lock and key at a separate enclosure in their shops and sell only against prescriptions that will have to be retained for two years.

They need to inform state drug controllers every month about the sale figures since the supply will be audited.

Infamously called "K" among addicts, the drug is evaporated to form a powder which is snorted or swallowed by users for "similar effects of party drug LSD". Ketamine is also smuggled to east Asian countries from India.

"Even though Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has put certain restrictions on export of this drug, several consignments that were attempted to be smuggled out have been seized in India by the Director General of Revenue Intelligence. It was therefore necessary that domestic control over the sale of the drug should be further restricted," the DTAB note says.

Ketamine figures in Schedule H of the Drugs Rules along with 535 other medicines. Though one needs to purchase it against a prescription, "it is easily available over the counter also".

The proposal to put Ketamine under Schedule X was considered in the Drug Consultative Committee (DCC) meeting held on October 28, 2010.

"It was decided that the drug should be moved to Schedule X so that there are more restrictions on its storage, transportation and use. However, only the DTAB has the power to amend rules which it did on October 10. Once the minutes of the DTAB are finalized in a week, the decision will be sent to the Union health ministry for notification," a source told TOI.

Experts say Ketamine hydrochloride powder can look similar to cocaine that can be snorted, mixed into drinks or smoked. The liquid is either injected or consumed with alcohol.

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic for human and veterinary use. Its excessive use results in severe hallucinations, making it popular in raves and parties.

First synthesized in 1962, the drug was used on wounded American soldiers during the Vietnam War, but is now often avoided because it can cause "unpleasant experiences". It is still used widely in veterinary medicine, and for select human applications.

By 1970, it was designed as an improved version of phencyclidine. It afforded physicians and surgeons a "safe and potent, intravenously administered anesthetic of short duration which combined analgesic and sleep-producing effects without significant cardiovascular and respiratory depression".

Intravenous use of Ketamine is not recommended for recreational purpose because users can become unconscious in no time.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com