title: Near-death states reported in a sample of 50 misusers.
abstract: Increase in recreational ketamine use may be a cause for concern. We aimed here at assessing, in a sample of ketamine misusers, concordance between the typical near-death experience (NDE) features and the on-drug psychoactive effects the subjects experienced. In 2003-2005, a sample of previous ketamine misusers recollecting a ketamine-related NDE were recruited through snowballing and screened with the means of the Greyson NDE Scale; 125 participants made an initial contact with the researcher and 50 reported a minimum score of seven at the "Greyson NDE Scale". Interviewees were in the range 21-66 years old; 27 participants (54%) were educated at BA level, 18 (36%) had an MSc, and 5 (10%) a PhD. Eight (16%) interviewees had a definite religious background. An average lifetime ketamine intake of 140 occasions was reported by the interviewees, who typically presented with a polydrug, including cannabis and MDMA/ecstasy, misuse history. In 45 (90%) cases, the NDE occurred during the first few occasions of intake. Most frequent features of reported NDE states included: altered perception of time (90%), strong sense of detaching from own physical body (88%), and a sense of peace/joy (76% of subjects). Although results here described were elicited from a self-selected, nonrandomized, limited size sample of misusers, we suggest that recreational ketamine intake may be associated with occurrence of near-death related states.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Pharmacology, University of Hertfordshire, Pharmacy and Postgraduate Medical Schools, Hatfield, Herts, UK. o.corazza@herts.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ornella
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Corazza
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Schifano
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000700:Analgesics / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000506:poisoning*; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D007649:Ketamine / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000506:poisoning*; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000700:Analgesics; D007649:Ketamine