The effects of ketamine are under increased focus following a lawsuit filed by a former Cornell University student. She alleges that fraternity members gang raped her at a party after she ingested the drug.
Ketamine is a dissociative anaesthetic that is increasingly consumed in the US as both an illegal party drug and a legal mental health treatment. Experts indicate that at high doses, ketamine can lead to a profound disconnection from reality, where individuals may appear conscious but have little understanding of their surroundings.
Joseph Palamar, an associate professor at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, notes that a person under the influence of ketamine may not properly register being touched. Professor Celia Morgan, psychopharmacology chair at the University of Exeter, adds that at high doses, the separation from reality can become almost total, which is not conducive to consent.
The Cornell case has brought scrutiny to New York's voluntary intoxication laws. These laws can make it more difficult to secure convictions for assault survivors if they were under the influence of drugs or alcohol. New York's Governor, Kathy Hochul, stated on Friday that the law should be changed.