STATES OF JERSEY
HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT
Misuse of Drugs ( Jersey ) Law 1978
Proposed Classification of Ketamine as a Controlled Drug
1. Issue
The Minister is requested to consider bringing Ketamine under the control of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978.
2. Introduction
The Misuse of Drugs Advisory Council (MDAC) is established in accordance with Article 2 of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 and has a duty to advise the Minister on measures, which in its opinion, should be taken to prevent the misuse of drugs and/or to deal with the social problems connected with drug abuse.
3. Background
The MDAC has given consideration to a proposal to bring Ketamine, a medicine currently controlled as a prescription only medicine under the Medicines (Jersey) Law 1995, under the control of the misuse of drugs legislation as ketamine has been shown to be a substance of misuse.
Ketamine is mainly used in veterinary practice but may also be prescribed in hospitals for pain management. In recent years enforcement agencies have become aware that ketamine has increasingly been taken as a recreational drug by those involved in the club scene.
As a dissociative anaesthetic, ketamine has hallucinogenic properties and can make the user feel detached from reality. Ketamine can affect the memory and is extremely dangerous when mixed with alcohol and/or other drugs under which circumstances it can be fatal. In addition, excessive doses can increase the risk of respiratory problems and heart failure. The long term effects of recreational use of ketamine are not yet known, but there is some evidence that a minority of users could become psychologically dependent.
Concerns were expressed by the MDAC that ketamine could potentially be used as a “date rape” drug.
The U.K. brought ketamine under the control of its misuse of drugs legislation on 1st January 2006.
The MDAC concluded that it would be desirable to bring ketamine under the control of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 such that it would be an offence to import and export, manufacture, supply and possess ketamine without lawful authority.
The MDAC therefore recommended that ketamine should be classified in the same manner as benzodiazepines as a Class C controlled drug and also placed in Schedule 4 of the Misuse of Drugs (General Provisions) (Jersey) Order 1989, as amended.
4. Recommendation
The Minister is requested to approve the proposal made by the MDAC that ketamine be brought under the control of the Misuse of Drugs (Jersey) Law 1978 in the manner described above and to direct the Chief Pharmacist to prepare a brief for consideration by the Law Draftsman
Paul McCabe
Chief Pharmacist
1st March 2006