A battlefield drug that became a club drug is now being sold as a boutique drug, purported to relieve hard-to-treat depression.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic. That’s a class of psychedelic drug that can cause hallucinations, changes in thoughts or emotions, or creates the sense of being outside one’s body.
Some research shows ketamine to be as effective as electroconvulsive therapy, which is used for treatment-resistant depression. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration warns that only one form of ketamine — a nasal spray called Spravato — can be used legally, and only under strict conditions, which include being monitored by a doctor for at least two hours.
And the agency advises that other off-label uses of compounded ketamine can be dangerous. A compounded drug is specifically made for the user, something that happens only at specialized pharmacies.
The FDA cited reports of adverse incidents and said unsupervised use of compounded ketamine — which can be addictive — opens the door to dangerous psychiatric reactions and health problems, like spikes in blood pressure, ineffective breathing and serious urinary tract damage.
Ketamine, often called “Special K,” has lit up the boutique telehealth market. Some clinics and wellness centers supervise ketamine users. But with online prescribers, in many cases, a video interview and payment are all that’s needed to get the drug through the mail.
The FDA’s warning acknowledged that there is great interest in ketamine as a treatment for chronic depression.
But for now, the nation’s drug safety agency says, until there’s more study, the treatment isn’t worth the risk it presents.