---
name: Ketamine
molecule: C13H16CINO
compound: "Ketamine"
era: Modern
origin: USA
archetype: Milady
ancestor: Nepal, Turkey
swag_score: 3
image: "https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/milady_nepal_turkey_ketamine.webp"
date_added: "2025-01-12"
---

<div align="center">
  <img src="https://assets.0xhoneyjar.xyz/Mibera/traits/milady_nepal_turkey_ketamine.webp" alt="Ketamine" width="320" />
</div>


# Ketamine

## Effects & Properties

**Effects:** Dissociation, mild hallucination, dream-like states.

**Natural Occurrence:** Ketamine doesn’t occur in nature, it was
first synthesized in 1962 by Parke-Davis.

## History

Ketamine was first synthesized in 1962 by Calvin Stevens at Parke-Davis Laboratories in Michigan as a safer alternative to the anesthetic PCP, and it was approved for medical use in 1970. It was widely used as a battlefield anesthetic during the Vietnam War due to its safety profile and ease of administration. Ketamine entered recreational and club culture in the 1980s-90s, becoming a staple of the UK rave scene and global dance music culture, valued for its dissociative "k-hole" experiences, and has recently undergone a remarkable clinical renaissance as a rapid-acting treatment for treatment-resistant depression.

## Connections

**Archetype:** [Milady](../../../core-lore/archetypes.md#milady)

**Ancestor:** [Nepal](../../../core-lore/ancestors/nepal.md), [Turkey](../../../core-lore/ancestors/turkey.md)

**Tarot Card:** [Death](../../../core-lore/tarot-cards/death.md)

**PubChem:** [Ketamine](https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ketamine)

**Paired With:** [Grayanotoxin](grayanotoxin.md)

## Sources

- https://www.erowid.org/chemicals/ketamine/ketamine.shtml
- https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Ketamine
- [Ketamine - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ketamine)
- [Happy 50th Anniversary Ketamine (PMC)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6493431/)
- [Ketamine: 50 Years of Modulating the Mind (PMC)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5126726/)
- [The Drug of War: a historical review of the use of Ketamine in military conflicts (PubMed)](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20180434/)