History of Ketamine.: Ketamine. A synthetic compound used as an anesthetic and analgesic drug and also (illicitly) as a hallucinogen. Published March 5, 2016 at 1700 × 1133 in History of Ketamine. Ketamine. A synthetic compound used as an anesthetic and analgesic drug and also (illicitly) as a hallucinogen. Ketamine. A synthetic compound used as an anesthetic and analgesic drug and also (illicitly) as a hallucinogen.