Ketamine Hydrochloride is most commonly used as a veterinary anaesthetic. It is generally injected intramuscularly, but can also be taken orally, rectally, or snorted. Much of the ketamine used recreationally is diverted from legitimate pharmaceutical sources in liquid form. Powdered ketamine is usually the result of drying liquid ketamine.
Food should not be consumed within an hour and one-half before ketamine use, and should be avoided for longer periods of time if possible as nausea and vomiting are not uncommon. As always, it should be noted that dosages and reactions vary greatly depending on the individual. Following are charts showing approximate ketamine dosages in mg (by administration type).
Insufflated / Nasal Ketamine Dosages |
| | by body weight | approx total |
| Threshold | .1 mg / lb | 10 - 15 mg |
| Light | .15 mg / lb | 15 - 30 mg |
| Common | .3 mg / lb | 30 - 75 mg |
| Strong | .5 - .75 mg / lb | 60 - 125 mg |
| The K Hole | 1 mg / lb | 100 - 250 mg |
|
Onset : 5 - 15 minutes
Duration : 45 - 60 minutes
Normal After Effects : 1 - 3 hours
|
Powder for nasal use are produced by gentle boiling off of solution. Nasal doses are highly unlinear next to oral and IM doses. The effects are quite different at low doses. A low dose nasally will be short and much different from a comparable oral dose.
One method described with nasal use is to insufflate (snort) 25 mg in each nostril, wait 5 minutes and repeat until desired dosage is reached.
Ketamine is often used in 'bumps' or small amounts of the powder insufflated from either a specialized micro-spoon, a specialized 'bullet', or eyeballed small piles. Bumps from bullets are commonly 30-50 mg, although their size varies by size of spoon, make of bullet, and individual. Users should be extremely careful when using a new method of sizing bumps.
Oral Ketamine Dosages |
| | by body weight | approx total |
| Threshold | .3 mg / lb | 40 - 50 mg |
| Light | .6 mg / lb | 50 - 100 mg |
| Common | .75 - 2 mg / lb | 75 - 300 mg |
| Strong | 1.5 - 2.5 mg / lb | 200 - 450 mg |
| The K Hole | 3 - 4 mg / lb | 500 + mg |
|
Onset : 5 - 20 minutes (depending on stomach contents)
Duration : 90 minutes
Normal After Effects : 4 - 8 hours
|
Oral doses are prepared from a powder by placing the powder in a cup and pouring about 1 cm of hot water (tap should be ok) in it and stiring to solution. The remainder of the cup is filled with an acid such as orange juice. Ketamine itself tastes quite bad.
Rectal Ketamine Dosages |
| | by body weight | approx total |
| Threshold | .3 mg / lb | 40 - 50 mg |
| Light | .6 mg / lb | 50 - 100 mg |
| Common | .75 - 2 mg / lb | 75 - 300 mg |
| Strong | 1.5 - 2.5 mg / lb | 200 - 450 mg |
| The K Hole | 3 - 4 mg / lb | 500 + mg |
|
Onset : 5 - 10 minutes
Peak : 20 - 30 minutes
Duration : 2 - 3 hours
Normal After Effects : 4 - 8 hours
|
Some who choose the rectal administration route use a syringe with the needle removed. The desired dosage can be put in the syringe, inserted (using lubricant) and injected. Rectal use is similar to oral in that it has a lower peak, but longer duration.
I.M. Ketamine Dosages |
| | by body weight | approx total |
| Threshold | .1 mg / lb | 10 - 15 mg |
| Light | .15 mg / lb | 15 - 30 mg |
| Common | .2 mg / lb | 25 - 50 mg |
| Strong | .5 mg / lb | 40 - 100 mg |
| The K Hole | .75 mg / lb | 60 - 125 mg |
| Anaesthetic | 1 mg / lb | 100 - 200 mg |
|
Onset : 1 - 5 minutes (depending on dose and injection location)
Duration : 30 - 60 minutes
Normal After Effects : 2 - 4 hours
|
It is common to have muscle pain when injecting larger doses of liquid Ketamine into muscle tissue. The pain can continue for several days if it is not administered properly. The muscle soreness can be somewhat controlled by using a very fine (small gauge) needle and by injecting very slowly. It should take 15-30 or more seconds to inject a dose into a muscle. If you feel it begin to sting, slow down the injection rate. IM and IV administration generally produce a higher peak, and a shorter overall duration than other methods.
