WHAT IS KETAMINE?

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic used in both human and veterinary medicine. It is also used recreationally for its hallucinogenic effects and has recently emerged as a rapid-acting treatment for severe depression and chronic pain in supervised medical settings.

MEDICAL USES OF KETAMINE

• Anesthesia and Sedation: Ketamine is FDA-approved as a general anesthetic for diagnostic and surgical procedures, especially in emergency and pediatric cases, because it provides pain relief, sedation, and memory loss while generally maintaining breathing and airway reflexes.
• Pain Management: At lower, sub-anesthetic doses, it is used to manage acute and chronic severe pain, particularly nerve-related (neuropathic) pain, and can help reduce the need for opioids.
• Treatment-Resistant Depression: Ketamine has shown rapid antidepressant effects in people with severe, treatment-resistant depression and suicidal ideation, often within hours, which is much faster than traditional antidepressants. An FDA-approved nasal spray derived from ketamine, esketamine (brand name Spravato®), is available for this purpose and must be administered in a certified medical setting.

RECREATIONAL USES OF KETAMINE