Ketamine

Methoxetamine can be worse as it has a higher potency than ketamine so the effects can be worse and last longer

Long term use

Poor Memory

Attention deficit

Bladder damage

Psychological Impact

It can cause:

Euphoria

Psychological dissociation with hallucinations

Anxiety “out of body” experiences

Ketamine and Driving

Ketamine will impair driving ability for a few hours after use.

• Distorted perceptions of space and time
• Reduction in awareness of one’s surroundings
• Blurred vision
• Poorer reaction times

The Legal Limit for Ketamine

The Govt introduced specific legal limits for both illicit and prescribed drugs in March 2015 when the offence of driving above the specified limit for drugs was introduced.

The specified limit for Ketamine is 20ug. This is a measurement that is 10,000 fold lower than the analysis for alcohol and the analysis is not subject to the type approval or a presumption that the result is correct. This leads to greater uncertainty in results.

The government did not accept the recommended levels which were set in the Wolff report. The report recommended that the level for Ketamine should be 200ug at which they determined a driver would be impaired.*2

Defences for driving over the legal limit for cocaine

Laboratories have struggled to effectively analyse blood samples. There have been two laboratories recently which have lost their accreditation due to errors in their analysis of blood samples. Approximately 4,000 cases have been re-opened and convictions set aside as a result in the past couple of years alone. Over 27,000 since the inception of the drug driving legislation in March 2015.

It is not a perfect science and you cannot assume that the prosecution analysis is 100% accurate it isn’t.

What to look for?

There a number of telltale signs in the analytical data pack (ADP) which would indicate the result are unreliable.

• Has the laboratory deducted the 20% allowance from the result – this is the allowed margin of error. If not then your result may be below the specified level.
• Does the laboratory have the proper accreditation which is the validation process which examines their processes to ensure their accuracy in analysing blood samples.
• Poor labelling and lack of continuity. All vials must be labelled correctly and followed through the analysis sometimes this gets muddled up and the prosecution cannot prove that the sample tested was the defendants.
• Has the data input been accurate if there is a “data anomaly” it will usually lead to inaccurate results.
• Failings in the quality control sample – each batch of samples must have a control sample to be measured against if this is contaminated in any way the whole batch would usually need to be re-tested but usually isn’t. Such contamination would lead to higher results and render the results unreliable.
• Have they calibrated the results and equipment accurately. The laboratories must test and calibrate their analytical instruments daily. These results must fall within a recommendation range or standard deviation. These are resulted in the form of graphs on the ADP which can be examined and the deviation checked to see if they fall within the recommended range if not the batch should have been re-tested because the results will not be reliable. Laboratories seldom re-test because it is not profitable to do so their margins for profit are so small.
  

Procedural Issues

The prosecution must follows the procedure to the letter, there include:

1. Compliance with S15 Road Traffic Offenders Act 1988 which specifies how blood samples should be taken and what should be done with them after.
   https://roadtrafficdefencelawyers.co.uk/2023/03/14/the-importance-of-keeping-your-blood-sample-taken-by-the-police/
2. Lack of continuity of the sample. The police must be able to show that the sample tested was your sample and failure to label correctly can break the continuity and offer a defence.
3. Failure to disclose evidence which will assist the us as the defence or undermine the prosecution case. The prosecution often fail to serve evidence within a specified period of time and this can lead to arguments to exclude vital prosecution evidence such as the expert report.

Post Driving Consumption

Many drivers say that when the police are indicating them to stop driving, they panic because they are in possession of some cannabis so having stopped their vehicle and before the police reach them they snort the ketamine or swallow it.

This is a defence but we would have to prove this on a balance of probabilities. We would have to show that but for the Ketamine consumed you would have been under the limit. If done successfully you would be found not guilty and your case would be dismissed.

The police may have body worn video evidence which will either show that you may have taken ketamine or had the time to take ketamine. Equally it may also show that it was impossible for you to take the ketamine.

You will usually need expert evidence to show that but for the cocaine taken after driving you would not have been over the limit.

If you have taken drugs after being stopped then you should tell the police. It makes the argument of post driving consumption more believable.

Special reasons and cocaine

Special reasons can be argued where you have unwittingly taken ketamine in order to avoid the mandatory minimum 12 months ban.

• Lace drinks - usually you would have get the lacer to give evidence or provide some evidence to show that your drinks were laced. You would also have to produce expert evidence to show that but for the lacing element you would have been under the limit. This is easier to establish if you do not use drugs at all.

Reference

1. Symptoms and Signs of Substance Misuse 3rd edition Margaret Stark, Jason Payne-Jamesm Michael Scott-Ham
2. Wolff Report 2013