MOSCOW, March 14 – RAPSI. The Meshchansky District Court of Moscow will hear a lawsuit filed by Kirill Plemyashov, Chairman of the Russian Veterinary Trade Union, against the Ministry of Agriculture on the ministry’s negligence in resolving the legal status of ketamine as a veterinary drug.

In his lawsuit, Plemyashov is demanding that the ministry be penalized for its inaction in determining the legal status of ketamine, a psychotropic drug, in terms of treating animals. The plaintiff refers to a 1998 government resolution that followed the inclusion of ketamine on a list of powerful psychotropic drugs, and requests that the ministry act upon the resolution.

Identified as a strong drug, ketamine was supposed to be in very restricted use. Since the substance is widely used as an anesthetic in human and veterinary treatments, the government directed the relevant ministries and agencies to work on licensing the drug. Otherwise an unauthorized prescription of ketamine could be seen as drug trafficking.

Plemyashev notes in his claim that there has been no legal action in this regard until now. In fact, ketamine is not even registered in Russia as a veterinary medicine and therefore it cannot be legally purchased and used even by those allowed to work with narcotic substances.

Due to a lack of regulation, there have been incidents involving veterinary physicians prosecuted for using ketamine. In 2003-2004, the Federal Service for Drug Control opened several drug trafficking cases against vets who prescribed injections for pets.