Overview

• Despite its origins as an anesthetic, ketamine has become one of the most frequently used club drugs, with easy access and low cost fueling its spread among young adults.
• High-profile disclosures by Elon Musk and the late Matthew Perry have kept ketamine in the headlines, with Musk recently reporting he paused biweekly self-dosing after media scrutiny.
• Clinical trials and approval of the esketamine nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression have bolstered public perceptions of safety, encouraging unsupervised recreational use.
• Addiction specialists warn that ketamine can trigger intense psychological dependence even without physical cravings and that chronic use is linked to bladder damage, cognitive decline and psychotic episodes.
• Experts report that the average age of ketamine users is falling and call for targeted education and prevention efforts to address the drug’s underestimated harms.