Animal control group seeks drug access

Tallahassee, Fla.-Florida Animal Control Association (FACA) officialsstand behind a bill that would grant animal control agents access to ketaminewithout a DVM's prescription.

FACA President Dr. Kenny Mitchell says the bill has passed the Senatebut awaits House approval.

If passed, Senate Bill 2058 and its companion, House Bill 1017, wouldauthorize agents to directly purchase ketamine for use as a last resortin the chemical immobilization of animals prior to euthanasia and for capturein the field.

"We have to have this to do our jobs in the shelters, and we needto be able to use ketamine when necessary," Mitchell says.

Ketamine hydrochloride, chemically related to phencyclidine hydrochloride(PCP), has been marketed in the United States since 1971 as a rapid-actinggeneral anesthetic for use in human and veterinary medicine. It wasn't untilthe early 1990s, when DEA officials received increasing reports of illegalketamine sales and abuse, that they reconsidered the non-controlled statusof the so-called party drug, the FDA reports.