KETAMINE

Trade name Ketalar, Ketajet, Ketaset

A.K.A. Special K or Ket

By Trinka Porrata
Edited August 9, 2002

Abuse of ketamine (pronounced Kee-ta-meen) goes hand in hand with gamma hydroxy butyrate
(GHB) and MDMA (Ecstasy). Where you find one, you will likely find the others. All three are
very popular with the RAVE party crowd. Ketamine hcl, a cat tranquilizer and the most
commonly used anesthetic in the Vietnam War, is also used in sexual assault on occasion since it
puts the victim in a frozen state for at least a brief period of time. It was big in the 70’s with
New Age types like Dr. John Lilly (the model for the William Hurt character in the movie
Altered States) and Timothy Leary.

Ketamine comes in
injectable form, liquid, for
legitimate use. It is most
commonly dried (oven or
microwave or air). The
crusty residue is ground to
a fine powder and is then
most commonly inhaled.

In order for a vial of ketamine to be in an abuser’s hand, someone has already smuggled it in
from Mexico or robbed or burglarized a vet clinic or pharmacy, or in some other manner diverted
the product for illicit use. In spite of that fact, when ketamine was made a Schedule III
Controlled Substance in California, it was specifically exempted from possession charges under
11377 H&S. While it is a chemical analog of PCP and would appear at first glance to be a mere
possession charge (again, 11377) under the analog section, it was specifically excluded. It was
just a 4060 B&P Code section misdemeanor for mere possession (of a controlled substance
without a prescription) until January 1999. In 1998 legislation was introduced to make it a
felony for mere possession. That effort fell short, resulting only in making it an H&S
misdemeanor.

In California, suspects can be charged for possession for sale and sales under 11379.2 H&S.
As of January 1999, mere possession of ketamine should be charged as 11377b(2), a new
section and a misdemeanor.
Ketamine
Page 2

Ketamine is now federally Schedule III. DEA has been collecting and evaluating abuse,
diversion and trafficking data, and all agencies are encouraged to provide information re
seizures and arrests to the DEA’s Washington Diversion Unit.

Ketamine is essentially a less-potent version of PCP. This shorter duration is a good selling
point to users looking for a more manageable high. The RAVE crowd tended to avoid PCP and
LSD, feeling they take you too far out of reality. But, LSD has made a big comeback with the
RAVERS and it seems PCP is slowly rising too.

While ketamine and GHB and MDMA provide out of body experiences and whack reality quite
a bit, it is still a bit below the out-to-lunch level of PCP and LSD trips. But, of course, that
varies with the amount taken and other drugs combined with it. And, flashbacks from ketamine
are common.

One Ket user stated, “If you take enough [it will] give you a preview of your own death, put you
in contact with seraph-like entities, and convince you that you’ve just seen God in a disco ball.”
True RAVERS boast that they don’t drink and drive like their parents. Instead, they plan to
spend 14 hours or so at a party. They do their drugs and more drugs, and pass out, and then
wake up and drive. With increasing “semi underground” (such as at fairgrounds and other
unsuspecting locations) and “above ground” (setting up special events at legitimate clubs and
facilities) RAVES, there is an increase in driving under the influence issues. Above ground
RAVES typically involve alcohol also.

Like GHB and Rohypnol and MDMA, ketamine has been around for a long time. Abuse levels
wavered in the 1980s but during the 1990s have been on a steady rise. . Physicians also
sometimes personally abuse it. For example, the California Medical Board has investigated and
taken the license of one plastic surgeon that liked to take it prior to doing surgery. Besides the
techno music RAVE set, ketamine is commonly encountered in homosexual communities.

Ketamine has been encountered around the State of California as elsewhere on an increasingly
frequent basis. The limited exposure law enforcement has had to it is probably reflective of the
unique and rather “closed” communities where it is most popular, the RAVE crowd, the gay
community and private professional abuse. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, for
example, recovered from three to 330 bottles of ketamine (a total of 468 bottles, plus a little
powder), primarily in the West Hollywood vicinity, during six incidents in 1995 and 1996. In
May 1999, officers in Dayton, Ohio, seized a full pound of ketamine powder. Even North
Carolina has seized significant quantities.

Ketamine is a psychedelic anesthetic classified medically as a dissociative anesthetic, discovered

by Dr. Cal Stevens of Wayne State University in 1961. Heavily used on the battlefields of
Vietnam, it is used today for short-term surgical procedures in both animals and humans. For
human consumption, it is marketed as Ketalar by Parke-Davis.
Ketamine
Page 3

It is sold only to hospitals and physicians. Since it does not depress critical body vitals as much
as other anesthetics, it is often used in procedures with burn victims, for example. It produces a
dissociative state in the central nervous system in which amnesia and profound analgesia (loss of
pain) are induced, though the patient does not appear to be asleep. This ability to induce a lack
of awareness to the environment is the effect abusers crave. Doctors and vets typically use it
only when resuscitation equipment is available. It is NOT a “take home” drug that a vet would
“prescribe” or give to a pet owner. Don’t fall for the line, “Oh, my vet gave it to me for my cat.”

It may produce pleasant dream-like states, vivid imagery, hallucinations and possibly extreme
delirium. This usually lasts only a few hours. Excitement and visual disturbances can recur days
or weeks after exposure to ketamine; the problem with “flashbacks” may be greater with
ketamine than with other hallucinogens. It also produces ataxia, slurring of speech, dizziness,
confusion, blurred vision, anxiety and insomnia.

Signs of being under the influence may vary greatly. It may product bursts of energy,
disorientation and mild-to-severe hallucinations. The effects are much briefer than PCP, lasting
only 30-60 minutes versus hours. In larger doses or mixed with alcohol, it may produce
vomiting (which is also commonly associated with GHB use).

I was told in early 1998 that while the volume of legitimate use of ketamine had not changed
significantly, production of ketamine was up 40 percent. That’s a significant statement of its
abuse levels. It is not produced clandestinely, since it involves a complicated, multi-step
synthesis and because the necessary chemicals are not readily available. It comes in injectable
form, liquid, for legitimate use. It is most commonly dried (oven or microwave or air). The
crusty residue is ground to a fine powder and most commonly inhaled. The liquid may be
injected, applied to smokable material or consumed in drinks. Powdered K has been encountered
in one-inch ziplock baggies, paper folds or capsules. These packets may contain from 0.07 to 0.2
grams.

One liquid vial (10 ml, at a strength of 100 mg/ml) of ketamine produces about one gram of
saleable powder. It is generally not diluted (“cut”) with any other product, though it could be. It
is close in appearance to cocaine and heroin, but is described as a white, crystalline powder,
duller and more powdery than cocaine.

Dosage is typically 20 mg per nostril (about a level coke spoon), repeated three or four times
until the desired level is achieved. It takes only 25 mg of PCP to provide full psychedelic
experience (about 100 mg of ketamine for a similar effect). A dose usually runs about $20.

Following the intravenous administration of 1 or 2 mg/kg of ketamine over a period of about one
minutes (or 6 to 13 mg/kg intramuscularly), within 15 seconds, the user will experience
sensations of dissociation (e.g. derealization, depersonalization, distortion, or fragmentation of
thought) and, within 30 seconds, the user will go unconscious.
Ketamine
Page 4

This may last 10 to 15 minutes and analgesia may persist for 50 minutes. Amnesia may be
present for one to two hours. A dose of just 0.07 grams of powder may produce common
symptoms of intoxication and a mechanical buzzing in the user’s ears. Users of 0.2 grams may
enter the mellow, colorful “K-land,” while 0.5 grams is more likely to take you to the “K-Hole,”
with out-of-body, near death encounters, hallucinations and delirium, etc. Effects usually last an
hour or less, but judgement, coordination and senses may be affected for 18 to 24 hours.

Most commonly called Ket, K or Special K, it may also be referred to as Green (apparently for
the green label on the Ketajet box). Other names include 1980 Acid, Super C, Vitamin K, Super
Acid, Special LA Coke, Baby Food (users sink into blissful, infantile inertia) and God (because
users often are convinced they have met their maker), Jet (Texas), Honey Oil, Blast, and Gas. A
dose is called a “bump.”

The K-hole is where you go when on it. K-head is a user. Calvin Klein refers to a combo of
cocaine and ketamine. Product 19 refers to a combo of MDMA and ketamine.

While ketamine is approved for commercial use as a veterinary product in cats and monkeys for
short-duration surgery or immobilization, there is currently no FDA approved commercial use
for humans, although doctors can prescribe ketamine to patients under the FDA’s “EXTRA
LABEL USE POLICY.” This allows a physician to prescribe a drug that is approved for one use
to be prescribed for another, unapproved, use. For example:
--Ketamine is still used as an anesthetic for children in whom the unpleasant emergence
reactions are less frequent.
--Ketamine was used for battlefield injuries (Vietnam and elsewhere) for rapid induction.
--Ketamine has been used for repeated procedures such as radiation therapy and the
changing of burn dressings in which analgesia (pain reduction) is desired by deep anesthesia is
not required or may even be dangerous (depressing vitals).
--Ketamine has been used by psychiatrists to break down mental barriers and by doctors
in Russia as a treatment for alcohol withdrawal.

As of 1996 the retail price of Ketamine was $7 per vial. The middleman in the abuse cycle
might pay $30 to $45 per vial and the end user $100 to $200 per vial. A dose (“bump”) is about
0.2 grams and costs about $20.

Tolerance and psychological dependence can develop with daily exposure. Chronic users may
have short-term memory loss, impaired vision or attention span limitations.
Ketamine
Page 5

Ttokyo brand “kettamina” is the latest addition. Fort Dodge cut back on their production,
dropping exports because it was all coming back into the US for abuse purposes. This brand in a
blue/white box/label began to surfaced, quickly filling the gap and seeking the abuse market.
 PCP & EMBALMING FLUID ABUSE
Fry, Wets, Embalming Fluid, Amp, Water, Sherms, Dank or Whack, etc.
By Trinka Porrata
Edited 8-05-01

PCP (phencyclidine) seems to be on the rise again and lately all the talk is about “wets” or
“embalming fluid” or “illy” or “fry.” Seems kids today may be smoking embalming fluid
straight up. I have to agree with Erowid.org on this one. It seems to be a confusion of slang
terms that has turned into a reality for some. PCP has been called “embalming fluid” for
decades. Probably because of the (often violent) zombie effect this usually-liquid drug causes.
It seems this has developed into a mixture of the two (reportedly embalming fluid was used by
some to mask the distinctive odor of PCP), and now some people going for the embalming fluid
all by itself, with horrible consequences indeed.

Even Erowid makes one thing very clear---Formaldehyde (Embalming fluid is a mixture of
formaldehyde, methanol (poisonous, flammable alcohol), ethyl alcohol or ethanol and other
solvents) is a known carcinogen linked to nasal and lung cancer with possible links to brain
cancer and leukemia and should not be smoked.

Frequently, when young people THINK they are smoking formaldehyde, PCP is also present or
may be the actual drug present. But in more and more cases, it seems to be actual formaldehyde
alone as the drug culture seeks more bizarre highs. Formaldehyde is available in drug stores and
beauty supply stores (an ingredient in nail care products) and school science labs. Funeral homes
have also been the target of burglaries and thefts for those seeking embalming fluid. Either
marijuana or tobacco cigarettes may be dipped in it and then smoked. Swisher Sweets and Philly
Blunts may be hollowed out, filled with marijuana and dipped in the solution. For some it may
be a morbid, gothic curiosity about death that entices them to embalming fluid.

Users interviewed by the Texas Commission on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse said it gives visual
and auditory hallucinations, euphoria, a feeling of invincibility, increased pain tolerance, anger,
forgetfulness and paranoia. Some even reported an overwhelming desire to disrobe (typical with
PCP because of getting hot) and a strong distaste for meat. In Philadelphia, a 14-year-old male
fatally stabbed (70 times) a 33-year-old neighbor after smoking “wet” to “quiet the voices in his
head.” Other symptoms include diminished attention, disorganized speech and thoughts,
violence, coma, seizures, kidney failure and stroke. The high lasts from six hours to three days.

Samples obtained from one “fry house” in Texas indeed contained PCP. Most often sold as
individual joints for $10-20 each, a two-ounce sample of fluid was purchased for $50. The
sample was positive for PCP.

One abuser, whose father was a mortician, reported that sometimes the product he bought had
the distinctive odor of embalming fluid and sometimes it did not, though the effects seemed to be
the same either way. He typically remembered his behavior and hallucinations afterwards.
PCP
Page 2

In 1988 an abstract in Neurology presented a single case of “amp” ingestion. The two cigarettes
had supposedly been dipped in formaldehyde. He had both vertical and horizontal gaze
nystagmus, agitation, confusion, bilateral upper extremity weakness and depressed reflexes. He
experienced pulmonary and cerebral edema and was ventilated in coma. He required dialysis for
rhabdomyolosis on day three and two days later had five tonic clonic seizures. He was nearly
normal by day 17. No reference was made to PCP but reviewers considered the nystagmus
highly suggestive of PCP intoxication. Based on other info, it seems that either PCP and
formaldehyde or embalming fluid alone may have somewhat similar effects.

One article stated “Most clinicians agree that the syndrome responds to droperidol or haloperidol
and some specifically recommend avoiding benzodiazepines due to disinhibition.”

There is also something called a candyblunt. A cigar is filled with marijuana plus codeine cough
syrup (poured onto the marijuana before rolling it). It’s then dried (30 seconds in the
microwave). Or, cough syrup may just be consumed with the blunt for a “deeper relaxation and
euphoria.” Or, Alize (a bottled passion fruit and cognac drink) may be consumed with the blunt,
or other alcohol.

Some of those interviewed in Texas warned that it’s a bad drug for girls as it can lead to losing
consciousness and certainly to control. One reported witnessing group sex with a girl who had
smoked fry. One reported that young women have traded sex for fry sticks. Headaches and
impaired vision are common side effects. They also described that they feel fry does long-term
or permanent brain damage, relating tales of people who ended up in funny farms, walked
around talking to themselves now or ceased personal grooming habits and walk around dirty.

The Texas study did not find that fry is a gateway drug. Most had already used other drugs.
Sadly, more likely, this is the aftermath of other drug use and a search from something more
bizarre.

PCP was most commonly known as “angel dust” in the old days when I joined the LAPD. We
encountered the dusted quite regularly in Rampart Division, for example. One night when
Rampart was backed up 55 radio calls and NO other divisions had units available for back up, we
got a call that was fortunately old. Neighbors reported that the man in the apartment had gone
berserk, but it was by then quiet and no one knew for sure if the wife and child were inside or
had gotten out. The curtains to the patio door were literally hanging in shreds. What little we
could see from outside was impressive. We patiently waited for back up (which arrived with a
member of the grand jury as a ridealong). When we knocked on the door, the suspect opened it
with a baffled and dazed look…..and holding a wad of wires that he had gleaned from phones
and stereo equipment, etc. He obligingly handed it to me (duh, only later did we learn that at
least one wire was still connected somewhere….and hot). He said he had arrived home and
found this mess and had no idea whatsoever had happened. He had no idea where his wife and
child were. He was cooperative and passive at this point. We finally located verification that he
was a veteran and tried desperately to find placement for him through our mental evaluation unit
and the VA Hospital. We were able to talk him into handcuffs and out to the car.
PCP
Page 3

We were careful to explain to the ridealong that this wasn’t because of our special talents (or
because female cops are “special”)….but only because of the passage of time and the change in
his condition from what it would have been if we had arrived during the massive destruction of
his apartment. At the VA Hospital, his head was clearing up fast, and he was able to fill us in on
his venture. His wife was the one with a drug problem. He had been trying hard to clean her up
for the sake of their child. In anger, he had said, “So how would you like it if I did drugs and
acted a fool like you?” He grabbed her marijuana joint and began to smoke it. He remembers
little after that moment. She didn’t bother to warn him that it was dipped in PCP. When he
whacked out, she had simply fled with the child. I’m sure his landlord wasn’t too happy.

PCP is a dissociative anesthetic (like ketamine and gamma hydroxy butyrate). It produces
generalized loss of pain perception with little or no depression of airway reflexes or ventilation.
It doesn’t make people stronger, but being impervious to pain, they may run on broken legs and
perform what seem to be superhuman feats. Psychotropic effects are caused through several
mechanisms, including the inhibition of reuptake of dopamine, norepinephrine and serotonin.
Effects last 11-14 hours or even 1-4 days. Acute ingestion can cause death. Death can also
result from self-destructive behavior while under the influence or complication of hyperthermia.

Common effects of PCP include sweating, elevated blood pressure, muscle rigidity, distorted
mental images, stupor or coma, slurred speech or inability to speak, increased heart rate, lack of
coordination, agitation and combative behavior, hallucinations, pronounced nystagmus. Higher
doses can cause life-threatening conditions, including convulsions, respiratory depression,
cardiovascular instability and prolonged coma.

Testing: Qualitative urinalysis is widely available. But, PCP analogs, such as ketamine, do not
appear on routine screening.

Los Angeles was said to be the source of 90 percent of the PCP distributed nationwide. In the
mid-90s, the LAPD Narcotics Division Clandestine Lab Squad took on the Bounty Hunters, a S.
Central street gang, that was the primary source. Juan Villenuave spearheaded the assault and
ultimately 16 members, including a former DDA, were jailed. Unfortunately, their hydrogenator
was never located. And as other gang members take over and some of those in jail are getting
released, production of PCP seems to be up again. Anyone with possible LA connections to their
PCP cases should contact the current Lab Squad (Frank Lyga handling PCP at the moment).

PCP was tested as Sernyl as an anesthesia for surgery but had too many postoperative problems.
It was pulled in 1965 as an investigative drug and never marketed to the health care industry. In
1967 it was introduced for large animal use as Sernylan. That same year the first abuse of it at a
San Francisco music festival occurred. It was called PeaCePill.
PCP
Page 4

Ingredients include piperidine, sodium or potassium cyanide and distilled water, plus
cyclohexanone and sodium metabisulfite and distilled water, which results in 1-piperidinocyclo-
hexanecarbonitrile (PCC). PCC plus phenylmagnesium bromide (reaction between
bromobenzene with magnesium turnings in anhydrous ether) results in PCP. Other chemicals
you may see in a PCP lab or recipe include pentamethylene dibromide, pyrrolidine and PHP (1-
(1-phencyclohexyl)pyrrolidine). PCP may be liquid or powder. May be “dusted” onto mint
leaves.
Source: Research brief by the Texas Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, Erowid.org,
news articles, Drug ID Bible, Poisoning & Drug Overdose manual from the California Poison
Control System. etc.

Typical PCP bottle and marijuana cigarettes to be dipped in PCP.

LSD, NITROUS OXIDE & MUSHROOMS
--NO RAVE IS COMPLETE WITHOUT THEM
By Trinka Porrata
Pager 888-530-8472
Edited August 9, 2002

LSD
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD), also known as acid, blotter, stamps, dots, trips, paper, A-
bombs, pyramids, is making a comeback and is widely available. It is a staple at rave parties
(probably below MDMA in usage and even with or slightly ahead of GHB). In fact, it is one of
the cheapest things on rave venue, running around $5 a dose (compared to GHB at $5 to $15 per
dose, ketamine at $10 to $15 and MDMA at $20, plus the rave tickets at $25 to $50 each).

Blotter paper is still considered its most common form, but liquid LSD is typically encountered
on the party circuit. It can be found occasionally in capsules, generally mixed with other
adulterants or other drugs. If an MDMA dealer cannot get enough of his product to meet
demand, LSD may be found mixed with methamphetamine, and the mixture is then substituted
for MDMA. Officers should handle all small bottles (Visine or other eye medicine bottles,
Crystal Ice or Binanca Blast or other breath mint bottles or small liquid candy bottles) carefully
as they may contain either GHB or LSD. A Schedule I drug first discovered in 1938, LSD’s
hallucinogenic effects were first documented in 1945 by a Swiss chemist. Because all LSD is
illegally made, there are no standards for packaging or form of the final product. LSD by itself is
very potent, tasteless, colorless and odorless. Light sensitive, it is often wrapped in tinfoil and
stored in a cooler or refrigerator. Water soluble, it is undetectable except by chemical analysis.
Today’s individual “doses” (10 to 80 micrograms) are generally less than levels reported in the
1960s and early 1970s (100 to 200 micrograms). Multiple doses are also often taken, thus
stepping up the dosage.

Any paper (perforated, designed paper, stamps or writing or notebook pages) or other material
may be soaked with a solution of LSD. It may be dropped onto sticks of chewing gum that are
then rewrapped. It may be placed on sugar cubes. It may be dripped or sprayed into the eye or
mixed with beverages; this method is sometimes employed at concerts. Another current method
of use involves something called “gel tabs” or “pyramids;” a gel of LSD is dried in the “wells” or
indentations on small pieces of plastic (cut from the diffuser material covering fluorescent light
fixtures, for example). The pyramids (often seen in bright red, green, blue or purple) are then
sucked on.

During the spring of 1999, rave concerts were scheduled at the Orange Show Fairgrounds in San
Bernardino. The first weekend of the events, police officers shot and killed a U.S. Marine who
was high on LSD. A few weeks later, mid-April, while assisting the San Bernardino Police
Department by providing brief training to 20 officers assigned to work the rave party, we
encountered another U.S. Marine high on LSD (one of about 30 arrestees). That contact (and
other info that they had received re numerous Marines attending raves and similar drug-invested
venues) resulted in Camp Pendleton scheduling training for their military police and other
LSD, N2O & Other Drugs
Page 2

personnel on recognition of the rape & rave drugs. Most military bases are experiencing a
problem with drugs, including MDMA, GHB, LSD, ketamine, etc.

LSD results in somewhat unpredictable activity because of issues of dosage and purity and even
personality input. Physical effects include extremely dilated pupils, higher body temperatures,
increased heart rate, speech difficulty, lack of coordination, sleeplessness, tremors, increased
blood pressure, sweating, piloerection (goose bumps), muscle rigidity, loss of appetite and dry
mouth. Sensations and emotions may be more dramatically affected than the above physical
signs. Their eyes are sensitive to light. Delusions and visual hallucinations are possible. LSD
may cause “crossing over” of senses, resulting in hearing colors or feeling sounds. Users may
experience flashbacks. “Bad trips” are not uncommon. The person on a bad trip may be
conscious, coherent and oriented, but anxious and fearful and may display paranoid or bizarre
reasoning. The bad tripper may be tearful, combative or self-destructive. Full effect takes up to
45 minutes. A trip may last 6-12 hours. The effects may wane after two to four hours, followed
by late effects of fatigue, headache or a contemplative state. Tolerance develops rapidly (but a
week’s abstinence will likely restore sensitivity) and psychological dependence may develop
after prolonged usage.

The young Marine in San Bernardino was an excellent representation of LSD use. He
exhibited many of the above indicators. He was constantly asking for water. At one point he
lunged forward from his chair and flopped on the ground with muscle rigidity. He was left there
during that period for his safety. He could talk coherently at times and was very emotional, but
was non-responsive other times. Later, as he was coming out of the effects of LSD, he was able
to describe to us who was standing over him when he was on the ground and what we were
saying, though he had been unable to respond to us.

Sometimes officers inquire about a “new drug” called LSA instead of LSD. This refers to
lysergic acid amide, somewhat weaker than LSD. This can be obtained by chewing morning
glory seeds. This is a dangerous practice as seeds for planting may be adulterated with
unpleasant or even toxic chemicals.

Note: Alize is a passion fruit and cognac drink that is pronounced similar to LSA. It may also
be encountered in the club or rave scene as an additive to the drugs, etc.

Two major arrests made in late 2000 and early 2001 are expected to make a huge difference in
the availability, purity and price of LSD for some time. A major blotter paper dealer busted in
the San Francisco area in 2000 is believed to have been the source of approximately one half of
all blotter paper for the past 20 years! A chemist was busted in Kansas (operating out of an old
missile silo converted to a lab) in early 2001 had enough LSD and chemicals to supply the
country for two and a half years.
LSD, N2O & Other Drugs
Page 3

NITROUS OXIDE
Nitrous oxide (N2O), aka NOZ, whippets (referring to the small cartridges), nitrous or laughing
gas, is making its contribution to the nation’s death toll of young people. Nitrous oxide is used
as a general anesthetic and as a propellant in many commercial products (whipped cream,
cooking oil spray). Abuse of this drug is seen also within the medical and dental professions.
Asphyxia is the greatest concern if adequate oxygen is not supplied along with the gas; since
abusers do not make any attempt to maintain oxygen levels, this is particularly dangerous. There
are also long-term concerns with chronic use due to its depression of vitamin B12. Symptoms of
inhalation include headache, dizziness, confusion, seizures, and cardiac arrhythmia’s.

Officers will encounter nitrous in one of four ways. Large canisters of nitrous may be stolen
from medical or dental offices or supply houses. If a location can be identified, this may warrant
a booking for receiving stolen property. Secondly, medium size canisters may be legally
purchased from high performance vehicle shops; it is used as “adrenalin” for performance cars.
The third source is small cartridges (same size as CO2 cartridges), which are used, in homemade
whipped cream makers. Not to be forgotten, the regular cans of commercial whipped cream.

The two larger sizes may be used just to fill balloons or may be rigged with tubes and soda
bottles to form masks, allowing one or more people to inhale directly from the container. The
“whippets” are opened by means of a device called a “cracker,” which then fills a balloon. The
cracker may be metal or plastic, and while designed specifically for this purpose, it is not always
recognized by police officers. All officers need to recognize that this item is drug paraphernalia
and what it does. Far more realize what nitrous is and may recognize the cartridges and
balloons, but have not made the association with the cracker. Officers typically comment, “I
always wondered how they opened those.”

Crackers are the approximate size and shape, for example, to be a waterproof match holder
for camping (but there is a hole in the end and a sharp point inside by the hole for puncturing
the canister). The design and machining of most of the metal crackers bears a strong
resemblance to that on your department flashlight.

Whippets can be purchased in kitchen stores in the mall, but are often purchased in bulk
(by the hundreds) via the Internet. Given the high price of homemade whipped cream
machines, the manufacturers of the small cartridges are quite aware of the actual use of
these products. The balloons used are heavy duty. The crackers are sold in sex shops or
over the Internet. And, the Internet provides instructions for making them from common
PVC fittings. While some head shops may also carry them, in Hollywood, they are most
often found only in the sex shops.
Representative deaths/incidents--California has had multiple deaths in a vehicle crash and other
incidents involving nitrous oxide. In Tallahassee, Florida, in November 1998, a young man
drifted off the road, hit a signpost and died……….a balloon he had used for inhaling nitrous was
LSD, N2O & Other Drugs
Page 4

still hanging between his lips. At MIT this year, two students were arrested for supplying nitrous
to a college student who died from inhaling it.

MUSHROOMS
Mushrooms, aka “Shrooms” or magic mushrooms, are another common hallucinogen, though
less common than LSD. The most commonly used species in the U.S. are psilocybe mexicana
and psilocybe cyanescens. They contain two related compounds: psilocin (4-hydroxy-N, N-
dimethyltryptamine) and psilocybin (4-phosphoryloxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine). According to
the book “Buzzed: Straight Facts About the Most Used and Abused Drugs from Alcohol to
Ecstasy,” by Duke University Medical Center, psilocybin is not the active ingredient. The book
maintains that the liver must first remove the extra chemical group (a phosphate group) before
the remainder of the molecule (psilocin) can then enter the brain. This drug is commonly found
as dried mushrooms, but may also be a white crystalline powder. A typical dose is four to ten
milligrams, or two to four mushrooms.

Shrooms are considered a shorter, milder LSD experience. Low doses may produce feelings of
relaxation, physical heaviness or lightness, and some perceptual distortions (most likely visual).
Heavier doses cause more physical sensations like lightheadedness, numbness of facial parts,
shivering or sweating, nausea and anxiety. The experience will be similar to LSD in terms of
feelings and visual distortions, etc.

Other drugs of interest:

Marijuana is also typically present at raves. Any combination of other drugs (prescription
pills, cocaine, meth, heroin, etc.) may be found, though large quantities or widespread use is not
likely. Organized drug traffickers for even the “normal drugs” may jump into the fray because it
is a moneymaking proposition, with a captive audience of thousands of youth eager to partake
and experiment. Florida, for example, found organized and even gang-related drug dealing of
the entire spectrum of drugs in their undercover work.

Another LSD-like hallucinogen that sometimes surfaces is dimethyltryptamine (DMT, aka

businessman’s lunch or special), which comes from the leaves of a vine (piptadenia peregrina).
The entire DMT experience develops and ends within an hour. The experience is similar to LSD
but causes more anxiety attacks than LSD.

Bufotenine and 5-methoxy dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) are found in the glands of

some frogs and produce brief, hallucinogenic highs and dangerous side effects. Peyote cactus
(mescaline) may also be encountered. The buttons may be smoked, chewed, powdered or
consumed in tea. Physical effects are closer to amphetamines, but the experience will be similar
to LSD.

LSD, N2O & Other Drugs

Page 5

Other “designer” mescaline-like drugs include DOM (2,5 dimethoxy-4-

methylphenylisopropylamine, aka STP), MDA, DMA, MDMA, NEXUS (4-Bromo-2,5-
dimethoxyphenethylamine) etc. These drugs have amphetamine-type effects with
hallucinogenic properties. The spices nutmeg and mace are also used for hallucinogens, though
not very often (the taste of gagging down several teaspoons of nutmeg is hard to handle).

Jimsonweed or other belladonna alkaloids also will surface on occasion. Jimsonweed

contains the belladonna alkaloids atropine (an effective medicine that can be lethal at higher
doses) and scopolamine (another legitimate medication that is also occasionally used in sexual
assaults). Chewing Jimsonweed parts can cause a bizarre dream state, but may also kill.

The Internet is also full of people talking about abuse of DMX cough medicine, whether they
extract the desired ingredient or simply drink large quantities of the cough syrup. Doesn’t seem
to be a pleasant experience, but they just keep trying!

INHALANTS—are breathable chemicals that produce mind-altering (psychoactive) vapors.

Many of these were not intended for use as drugs; many are solvents or aerosols, as well as
anesthetics. This includes airplane glue (toluene), nail polish remover (acetone), lighter and
cleaning fluids (chlorinated hydrocarbons), gasoline, butane and propane, freon, paints, aerosol
room deodorizers, cookware coating agents, computer keyboard cleaners, hair sprays, halothane
and nitrous oxide, as well as amyl nitrite and butyl nitrite. Many of these products have serious
short (loss of self control and violence, unconsciousness or death, as well as nausea and
vomiting) and long-term (nervous system/kidney/liver/bone marrow/blood damage) effects and
may even result in death. Amyl and butyl nitrite are also muscle relaxants and are often used in
the gay community. Wizard air freshener is one shockingly commonly abused by youngsters
between 9 and 12. An asphyxiate and a cardiac synthesizer, it can simply stop the heart without
warning. This is why Alan Leshner, Director of the National Institute of Drug Abuse, warns that
parents should not treat “huffing” as no big deal. He noted, “Parents and children need to know
that experimentation with these substances should not be taken lightly. Even a single session of
repeated inhalant abuse can disrupt heart rhythms and cause death from cardiac arrest or lower
oxygen levels enough to cause suffocation. Regular abuse of these substances can result in
serious harm to vital organs including the brain, heart, kidneys and liver.”

AMYL NITRITE—a clear, yellowish liquid sold in a cloth-covered, sealed bulb. When
broken, the bulb makes a snapping sound, accounting for the nicknames “snappers” or
“poppers.” Before 1979 it was available without a prescription and was used re heart patients
and for diagnostic purposes since it dilates blood vessels and speeds up the heart rate. Now that
it requires a prescription, more have turned to butyl nitrite. It is also a highly volatile flammable
liquid.
 BUTYL NITRITE—sold in small bottles under names like “Locker Room” or “Rush,”
it produces a very brief high (from seconds to just several minutes). It decreases blood pressure,
then results in increased heart rate, flushed face, dizziness and headache.
NITROUS OXIDE (N2O)

Nitrous Oxide (N2O or “Laughing Gas”) is

extremely common in the rave and club scene.
Large dark blue canisters (photo right) are
generally stolen from a dentist’s office or
medical supply facility and may be worth a
booking for receiving stolen property if a
victim location can be determined. The
medium size canisters (above) are legally
purchased from performance vehicle shops.
These will typically be found in the parking
area of the rave or may be smuggled inside by
the promoter while bringing in equipment.
Balloons are the common method of
distribution, or a one or two-person mask
system may have been arranged. The small
N2O cartridges are purchased legally in
kitchen supply houses or purchased in bulk
over the Internet. They are accessed by
means of the “cracker” which is a small metal
or plastic device with a sharp pin inside to
puncture the cartridge and a hole to allow the
nitrous to flow into a balloon. The metal
crackers bear a resemblance to police-type
flashlights in terms of style and machining.
Typically, only one in every 50 officers
around the country recognizes a cracker as
drug paraphernalia. Possession of the nitrous
along with balloons, crackers or some form of
mask devices establishes intent to inhale.
LSD & MUSHROOMS

LSD is back and flourishing, especially at rave parties

and in the clubs. It is still most common on blotter
paper (very unlikely to be found by security searches)
but is also often found in liquid form---often in the
Crystal Ice breathe mint bottles or Visine bottles. It
may be in gel caps or, a newer version, gel tabs (called
Pyramids) on small chunks of plastic (suck or chew it)
Drops may be put on the tongue, in the eye, or on
unwrapped sticks of gum (which may be rewrapped for
easy concealment and subtle distribution). GHB is also
often transported in Visine or Binanca Blast containers.
Officers handling any of these small bottles should
handle it as if it contained LSD (absorbed through the
skin while GHB is not), for safety reasons. Magic
mushrooms (and marijuana) are also common at raves.
 ANOTHER “WEED”

Exotic plants used in cultural or religious rituals as stimulants, depressants or other healing properties present an
additional problem for US law enforcement. Plants such as khat, betel nut and kava, for example, are traditional and
legal in other countries, but violate US drug laws. The San Francisco area has had a big influx of these types of
problems, according to FDA agents in the area.

KHAT—(Catha edulis F)--Khat is a plant native to East Africa and the Middle East. It contains cathinone, an
amphetamine that is illegal in the US. According to US Customs, seizures have increased 46 percent, from 48,000
pounds in 1999 to 70,000 pounds in 2000. Five Yemeni immigrants were prosecuted in recent years in the San
Francisco Bay Area for growing khat. Immigrant supporters say they should be educated, not jailed, but other say
that won’t work. All must abide by American laws to live here. Cathinone is present in fresh Khat leaves; within a
few days of being cut, this deteriorates to cathine, a lower scheduled drug. Toxicity issues include migraine
headaches, cerebral hemorrhage, myocardial infarction, pulmonary edema, hepatic cirrhosis and decreased sex drive
in humans. Cathine is Schedule IV federally and cathinone is Schedule I.

NOT TO BE CONFUSED WITH………….

Khat and Cat should not to be confused with Ket--“Khat” is a plant (Catha Edulis)
from Somalia which contains a federal Schedule I drug when fresh—cathinone. Within 48
hours of picking (a little longer if and sold in many Middle Eastern communities or by soldiers
who encountered it during foreign service. Some may grow in local climates. It is most
commonly chewed, but may be brewed or smoked. Users say it minimizes inhibitions and
encourages socializing. Early in 1998, police in Dearborn, Michigan, seized 200 pounds of
Khat. In February 1998, 1,000 pound was seized on Staten Island. This is not to be totally
confused with methcathinone, also called “Cat,” which is related to amphetamine &
methamphetamine and is (according to Richard Glennon at www.phc.vcu.edu/feature/cat/cat.html) a
synthetic analog of cathinone. In October 1997, a 16-year-old in Irvine was caught cooking up
“Cat” from an Internet recipe. It is more often seen in the Midwest than California, but it is
anticipated that it will become more common. “Khat” and “Cat” should not be confused with
“Ket,” which refers to ketamine, a cat tranquilizer and analog of PCP. Ketamine, or Special K,
is a dissociative anesthetic and is Schedule III in California. It may be injected but is most
commonly dried and snorted.

MEANWHILE, BACK ON THE INTERNET…………………

Your email is probably filled with ads from Katmandu about it………The hottest new weed in
town…..Salvia Divinorum. It’s a mint family herb, coming from Oaxaca,Mexico. Salvinorin A
is the active ingredient, categorized as a “thujone.” This group includes THC & Absinth
(wormwood). No one has controlled it yet……..