Thursday, 13 December 2018

Can a party drug stop the increasing rate of suicide?

a post by Derek Beres for the Big Think blog

Ketamine is showing promise in alleviating suicidal thoughts.

  • The popular party drug has shown promise in stopping suicidal thoughts in a number of small clinical studies.
  • First synthesized in 1962, the anesthetic was used to treat Vietnam War soldiers in the early seventies.
  • Though the accompanying hallucinations are a roadblock to widespread therapy, innovations in psychiatry are necessary.

The dirtiest drug I ever tried was ketamine. Besides having a general aversion to snorting powder, I vividly recall one evening in 1995 when, after ingesting a hearty dose of the anesthetic, I could no longer tell the difference between standing, sitting, and lying down. Fortunately I was in a safe environment; the effects eventually wore off, my relationship to gravity restored. The following morning was rough, causing me to swear off the drug forever.

Continue reading


No comments: