Nia
Co-Founder
Co-Founder

Screen Shot 2021-05-30 at 7.53.40 PM.png

 

Petition: Sign to end the use of Ketamine in policing

 

Ketamine is an anesthetic sedative that is most commonly used on animals during veterinary surgery and, less commonly, on humans to induce unconsciousness. Side effects of ketamine include amnesia, hallucinations, difficulty breathing, and in high doses, death. According to Canada’s Center for Addiction and Mental Health, ketamine has severe long-term effects including memory loss and a rapid heart rate which causes an increased risk of heart attacks. The lethal drug is currently being used in municipalities across the United States to sedate citizens during encounters with law enforcement. 

 

Many doctors across the country have strongly opposed the use of ketamine for this reason with The Colorado Society of Anesthesiologists saing “CSA firmly opposes the use of ketamine or any other sedative/hypnotic to chemically incapacitate someone for a law enforcement purpose”. We must call for municipalities to ban the use of ketamine immediately to ensure that law enforcement can no longer use this deadly drug on citizens.  

 

In 2020, Minnesota paramedic, Joseph Baker, filed a lawsuit alleging that police officers tried to force him to administer ketamine during an arrest. Medical physician, Mark Pappadakis explained that ketamine should not be used by police or EMTs because “without proper monitoring or training, it can be very deadly”.

 Ketamine is a drug with dangerous consequences and should be reserved for veterinary and medical anesthetic purposes, never to sedate someone during an interaction with law enforcement. 

 

Sign this petition to end the use of Ketamine in law enforcement. 


For more information on the dangers of Ketamine and it's use in policing, click "Learn More"