CASAC Client, Family, and Community Education Practice Test 2026 – Complete Exam Resource

Ketamine produces a dissociative state, meaning people feel detached from their body and surroundings and may have perceptual changes or dreamlike experiences. This combination of dissociation with perceptual alterations places it in the hallucinogen/dissociative category. Its primary action is as an NMDA receptor antagonist, which disrupts normal brain signaling and leads to that distinctive dissociated, altered-consciousness effect. This differs from depressants (which slow brain activity), stimulants (which increase activity), or cannabinoids (which act on cannabinoid receptors), making hallucinogen/dissociative the best fit for how ketamine is classified.