Clubbers look for new kicks from animal drug ketamine

KETAMINE, best known as a horse tranquilliser, is rapidly gaining popularity on Britain's drugs scene, a survey claimed today.

Leading charity DrugScope said the hallucinogen - nicknamed "special K", "tekno smack" and "vitamin K" - was found on sale in eight of the 15 towns and cities included in the research. It did not feature at all in the same survey last year.

The drug is legal to possess but the Government intends to make it class C before the end of 2005. Ketamine is a general anaesthetic which has been used in hospitals and in veterinary medicine since the 1970s.

Effects depend on the dose but users report euphoria, hallucinations and "dissociative" feelings in which mind and body seem to separate.

It can be dangerous when taken in conjunction with alcohol or other depressants and users can be unable to move or feel pain while on the drug.