Does Ketamine Appear on Drug Tests? Everything You Need to Know - AttoLife

Does Ketamine Appear on Drug Tests?

Ketamine, a dissociative anaesthetic, is becoming a more popular drug in the UK thanks to the party culture. And to answer the question does ketamine show in drug tests? - yes, it does. 

In 2023, usage among people aged 16-24 in England and Wales increased to 3.8% up from only 0.9% in 2006-2007. That equates to around 220,000 people, with 719 of them being young people requiring specialist treatment services in 2022-2023 (statistics from the Office of National Statistics). Rehabs UK also reported that out of 4,000 requests in 2023, 15% were for ketamine misuse, an increase of 30% in 2024.

And as a Class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, 1971, the consequences of possession, production, and supply are severe. Anyone found in possession of ketamine could face up to 5 years in prison and an unlimited fine, and up to 7 years and an unlimited fine for the production and supply.

But the question is, will ketamine appear on drug tests? Here’s everything you need to know.

Does Ketamine Appear on Standard Drug Tests?

In the family law setting, ketamine won’t appear on 5 and 6-panel drug tests, but it will appear on 9-panel drug tests. 

Standard 5 and 6-panel drug tests typically detect:

• Cannabis

• Methamphetamines (inc ecstasy, MDMA, MDA,etc).

• Cocaine (including crack cocaine, AEME, BZE, norcocaine, cocaethylene).

• Opiates (inc heroin, codeine, morphine, 6MAM).

• Amphetamines

• Benzodiazepines

Its unique chemical structure and classification means standard drug panel tests can’t detect it. 

Still, to answer the question, does ketamine show in drug tests, yes it does. If you’re a legal professional working on a family law case, like a child dispute case, for example, you can request these kits if you suspect ketamine misuse.

Specific Drug Tests That Can Detect Ketamine

As we said, the answer to "Does ketamine show up in drug test" is "Yes." But if you need to identify ketamine misuse, you need to order 9-panel drug tests. Similarly, ketamine will show up on a 12 panel drug test as well.

Note: the metabolites of ketamine are norketamine, dehydronorketamine, hydroxyketamines, and hydroxynorketamines. It’s more common for ketamine specific drug tests to detect norketamine, but most of them will look for all the metabolites.

The reason behind testing will determine the testing method required - some tests have shorter detection windows than others and aren’t appropriate for all scenarios. We’d recommend tests with a longer detection window, like hair and nail drug tests, for ongoing family law cases.

Here’s an overview of the specific drug tests that can detect ketamine misuse.

Hair Tests

Hair drug testing provides the longest detection window. Ketamine specific hair drug tests can typically detect ketamine use for up to 12 months. In theory, the section window could be longer. Each centimeter of hair represents on average one month, so the detection window could be as long as the length of hair if misuse is ongoing.

This type of test is most suitable for professionals wanting to detect ongoing ketamine misuse as part of a legal case, for example, to build a more accurate picture of the timeline of ketamine misuse in a child custody case.

Fingernail Tests

Ketamine specific fingernail drug tests are also great for detecting ongoing or long-term ketamine misuse. Whilst they don’t work in the same way as hair drug tests, with each centimeter representing one month, the metabolites of ketamine will become trapped in the keratin fibers in the nails and remain in fingernails for around 3-6 months and approx 12 months for toenails.

Urine Tests

More commonly used in workplace settings by our sister company, AttoSure, urine tests are one of the most common testing methods because they’re so cheap, effective, and non-invasive. They’re more suitable for testing when professionals want to detect recent ketamine misuse.

The typical detection windows for ketamine in urine tests include:

• Single Use: Up to 3 days

• Frequent Use: 5-7 days

Requesting a urine drug test for ketamine isn’t suitable for detecting misuse after 7 days. 

Saliva Tests

Again, more commonly used in workplace settings by our sister company, AttoSure, Saliva tests are less common for ketamine detection but can identify use within 24 hours. It can be a suitable testing method for family law if legal professionals suspect ketamine misuse within the last 24 hours.

Note: for all the testing methods, specific factors will influence how likely a test is to detect ketamine. Here are some factors that might influence ketamine detection:

• . Amount consumed

• . Time of consumption

• . Purity, Whether ketamine was combined with other drugs

• . Metabolism

• . Overall health

• . Taking other medications

It’s also worth noting that ketamine false-positive results are more common than on standard panel drug tests.

Why is Ketamine Tested For?

There are several scenarios that will require ketamine testing:

Family Law

Family law cases, including child custody disputes and support cases or immigration cases, might request ketamine drug tests to support the case. For example, if a court suspects one of the parents is under the influence of ketamine whilst caring for a child, they might have parental rights removed and visitation restrictions. 

Medical Reasons

Sometimes, ketamine can cause serious medical emergencies like respiratory collapse, urinary issues known as ‘ketamine bladder’ (chronic misuse), and cardiac failure. A ketamine drug test can determine whether it causes a medical emergency and help determine the correct treatment path.

Legal and Forensic Investigations

Ketamine testing can be essential in legal cases. We’d say it’s most common in cases involving impaired driving and road traffic accidents, ongoing criminal investigations, or ongoing legal investigations like a child custody dispute.

Workplace Policies

Although we’d say it’s more uncommon, some industries with strict drug policies will regularly enforce ketamine drug tests in their policies. It’s more common in workplaces that involve safety-sensitive roles like construction, transportation, and healthcare.

At AttoLife, we can help you with our tailored drug testing services for the legal sector. Contact us today to learn more about our comprehensive testing solutions. For workplace drug testing inquiries, head over to AttoSure.

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