How A Cocaine and Ketamine Mix Killed A 17-Year Old Violin Prodigy
Life seemed perfect for 17-year old violinist Katya Tsukonova. Born in London to Russian billionaire parents, Katya was accepted at the acclaimed Royal College of Music at the age of nine where she studied violin, piano, and music theory among others. She went on to become a music scholar at Wycombe Abbey’s school in Buckinghamshire. At such a young age, this talented musician had already performed at the world’s most renowned venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Royal Opera House in London. Katya was also awarded as the best musician of the year at the 2018 Suoni dal Golfo festival in Italy.
Her promising future came to a screeching halt when her father found her lifeless at their Kensington home in June this year. Katya was partying before that incident and according to her friends, the culprit is the ‘Calvin Klein’ drug sweeping the London nightlife scene and is said to be everywhere. So, what is this new drug craze? Is this a brand-new designer drug or has it been silently victimizing thousands of people over the years?
The CK Drug: Understanding Cocaine and Ketamine
The Calvin Klein drug or CK drug is a combination of two powerful substances: cocaine and ketamine. Cocaine, popularly referred to as “coke”, is a powerful stimulant used for recreation to gain feelings of intense pleasure and energy. Made from coca leaves, it was initially used as a painkiller but now, it is a commonly abused street drug. Usually sold as a white, fine crystalline powder, cocaine is often snorted, inhaled, or mixed with a liquid to be injected into a vein. It is used by club goers become mentally sharp and get a burst of energy when they are tired and want to keep partying all night long.
Ketamine, on the other hand, has an opposite effect. It is a horse tranquilizer and often used as an anesthetic in veterinary clinics. When taken, users tend to feel calm, floaty, and drug drunk. Some users claim that they tend to be delusional or hallucinate after taking ketamine, also known in the streets as K, ket or Special K. Ketamine is also used as a date rape drug as other short-term side effects include immobility and temporary amnesia.
Cocaine and ketamine, when taken separately, can be fatally dangerous. Each drug can cause a deadly overdose if ingested in amounts the user’s body can handle. Moreover, taking the drug together presents an extra layer of risk. According to users, Calvin Klein or CK drug is a term wherein a line of Coke and K is snorted at the same time. This is supposed to provide a euphoric high similar to ecstasy. While the CK drug gained spotlight due to the demise of the teen violinist, this drug mix has been making the rounds as early as mid-2000’s. In 2007, users talked about this drug mix on different forums.
Why do people take drug cocktails like the CK drug?
When a new perfume brand comes out in the market or when your favorite restaurant offers a new menu special, it is human nature to want to try it out. Drug users also experience this natural desire when new kinds of narcotics hit the market. This is especially common among teens and young adults who tend to experiment on different drugs without really knowing the dangerous effects. Recreational users who get drugs from clubs and social media are influenced by the idea that since everybody is taking it, then it must be safe.
Many users also do not realize that drug cocktails are deadly. One misconception is that combining drugs such as a stimulant and a depressant will cancel out the intense effects of the drugs. However, this has been repeatedly proven to be false as mixing different drugs only cause exaggerated effects and has been seen to be the cause of many overdose deaths. Some common examples of lethal drug cocktails are alcohol & benzos, the speedball (cocaine and opioids), fentanyl speedballs (cocaine and fentanyl), and cocaine & ecstasy.
The cocaine and ketamine combination is just as deadly. The effect is said to wreak havoc on the chemical system of the brain and can cause severe impairment of overall brain function. Just like other drug cocktails, taking coke and K together will not cancel out or balance the drugs’ effects. According to a Reddit user, while he expected the two drugs to weaken the effect of each other, the addition of cocaine only intensified the craziness of ketamine that he felt it was too psychotic and edgy. Another user claimed that instead of cancelling out the effects, taking the drug mix only made him feel the effects of the two drugs full-force. This is definitely dangerous as users may not realize that they are taking more than what their bodies can handle and could be at higher risks for overdose.
If you or a loved one is struggling with substance abuse, help is available. Contact Morningside Recovery by Lighthouse to learn more.