Colorado’s law enforcement officers will no longer recognize “excited delirium” after a state regulatory board voted to strike the controversial diagnosis on Friday from all training documents starting in January.
The move, which was passed at the state Peace Officers Standards and Training board meeting unanimously and without debate, comes as two Aurora paramedics face felony charges for giving Elijah McClain, an unarmed, innocent Black man, an overdose of ketamine, in part, because they believed he was suffering from the condition.
Ketamine does have valid medical uses, namely pain killing and sedation, it’s that in cases such as these it’s completely unnecessary
That’s my point. There are literally dozens of drugs that would have been more appropriate than ketamine in this situation.
Ketamine is widely considered one of the safest drugs, so safe that only cops could find a way to overdose someone on it.
I didn’t say it wasn’t safe…
You’re confusing the chemical science of things like LD50s of substances, with recommended medical practice by medical bodies such as which specific medicines are appropriate in which medical situations.
Again: there are dozens of medicines that would have been more appropriate than ketamine in this situation.
Why would those other medications be more appropriate. What’s the problem with Ketamine in the first place?
Ketamine doesn’t carry the risk of respiratory depression and hypotension that other sedatives and pain killers do. No risk that you might have to immediately intubate someone.