Ketamine ("K," "Special K," "cat Valium") is a
dissociative anesthetic developed in 1963 to replace
PCP and currently used in human anesthesia and
veterinary medicine. Much of the ketamine sold on the
street has been diverted from veterinarians' offices.
Although it is manufactured as an injectable liquid,
in illicit use ketamine is generally evaporated to
form a powder that is snorted or compressed into
pills. 
Ketamine's chemical structure and
mechanism of action are similar to those of PCP, and
its effects are similar, but ketamine is much less
potent than PCP with effects of much shorter duration.
Users report sensations ranging from a pleasant
feeling of floating to being separated from their
bodies. Some ketamine experiences involve a terrifying
feeling of almost complete sensory detachment that is
likened to a near-death experience. These experiences,
similar to a "bad trip" on LSD, are called the
"K-hole."
Ketamine is odorless and
tasteless, so it can be added to beverages without
being detected, and it induces amnesia. Because of
these properties, the drug is sometimes given to
unsuspecting victims and used in the commission of
sexual assaults referred to as "drug rape."
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Source: The
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)
Image Source: Drug Enforcement Agency
