Ketamine (Ketalar) is a dissociative anesthetic. Doctors use it to induce general anesthesia for medical procedures that do not require muscle relaxation. General anesthesia denotes a sleep-like state, while dissociative refers to the effect of feeling disconnected.

Ketamine (Ketalar) is a dissociative anesthetic. Doctors use it to induce general anesthesia for medical procedures that do not require muscle relaxation. General anesthesia denotes a sleep-like state, while dissociative refers to the effect of feeling disconnected. Doctors sometimes prescribe it for depression. Ketamine can sedate, incapacitate, and cause short-term memory loss, and because of this, some people use it as a date-rape drug.