My note on Ketamine raised some response from the net, and I thought I would respond to mind-l in general, as well as to the specific folks who were curious. *IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER* I am a scientific PhD, not a physician Neither I nor my employer take any responsibility for its accuracy or possible use. First, ketamine is in current use as both a veternary and a human anesthetic. It is called "dissociative" in action, which means that the mind is "separated" from the body. In many cases, this separation results in profound hallucinations and the sensation of entering another reality. In human use, a benzodiazapine like Versed is generally used along with ketamine to induce amnesia concerning the "emergence reactions". The most easily obtained reference about ketamine is the Physicians Desk Reference. Under the heading "Ketalar", this gives a great deal of information about the drug. Of course, since this is a general medical reference, much of the info of interest to mind-l is not present, but it should be read anyway. Perhaps the most important property of ketamine is that, despite the induction of both anesthesia and dissociation, the cough and gag reflexes *USUALLY* are not affected. This means that, contrary to most other agents which will produce anesthesia and/or unconsciousness, it is very unlikely that a person using ketamine will aspirate their own saliva and other excretions. This is *NOT* guarenteed, but is a pretty good bet. Solo use, however, remains dangerous. Ketamine is generally available for non-medical uses as ketamine hydrochloride. Some major chemical houses carry it at a cost of about $10/gm. I don't know if there are other sources which are cheaper, or if the veterinary form is easily available. Dosages are discussed in the PDR, but are generally in the range of 100-500 mg. Conventional useage is intravenous or intramuscular, but "recreational" use is apparently more often through insufflation (snorting) or solution ingestion. These latter approaches are probably only effective with the hydrochloride form, but the reported doses are similar to the conventional medical doses. As in all such experiments, if you must do this, be sure of your materials and start slow, with small doses separated by enough time to really come back to Earth between experiments. Mahalo