ASA first vice president discusses ASA’s ketamine statement with local news

On July 15, ASA issued a statement warning that ketamine and similar drugs should never be used to chemically incapacitate someone for law enforcement purposes. The statement was featured on KDVR-TV (FOX; Denver), KWGN-TV (CW; Denver), KFQX-TV (FOX; Grand Junction, Colorado), and the Associated Press (Denver), among other outlets.

ASA First Vice President Randall Clark, MD, FASA, was interviewed by KDVR-TV on July 20 regarding the need to review ketamine protocols following incidents in Colorado. “When we first learned of the size of the dose being used, to anesthesiologists, that would be concerning,” said Dr. Clark. “That is not something we would use in clinical medicine.”