Celebrities like Matthew Perry , Chrissy Teigen and others have been open about using ketamine infusion therapy to help treat mental health conditions. According to the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), ketamine is a “dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects” and “can induce a state of sedation, immobility, relief from pain, and amnesia.” It has been used as a party drug for decades but is an “approved medical product as an injectable, short-acting anesthetic for use in humans and animals and as a nasal spray (Spravato) for treatment-resistant depression,” per the DEA.
In October 2023, the FDA warned about using the substance to treat psychiatric disorders in non-injectable forms, noting that safety concerns that may be associated with ketamine usage include “risks of sedation, dissociation, psychiatric events or worsening of psychiatric disorders, abuse and misuse, increases in blood pressure and respiratory depression.” “The literature for the nasal and oral formulations is pretty scant,” Dr. Eric Schwenk of Thomas Jefferson University told the Associated Press in November 2023.
“There’s just not a lot of good evidence to guide you.” Despite having little research and regulation about ketamine therapy, its use has soared in recent years. Keep reading to see what celebs and doctors have said about ketamine.
Teigen revealed in December 2023 that she celebrated her 38th birthday by doing ketamine therapy, during .