Trends in Illicit Ketamine Seizures in the US From 2017 to 2022

 Joseph J. Palamar, PhD, MPH¹; Samuel T. Wilkinson, MD²; Thomas H. Carr, BA^3,4; et al

doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2023.1423

Abstract

Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has been used in medicine for a half century, with recent trials demonstrating efficacy of esketamine (an enantiomer of ketamine) for treatment-resistant depression.1 In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration approved the use of esketamine to treat this condition, although off-label use of racemic ketamine is now common.² It is unclear whether extensive media coverage about the therapeutic benefits of ketamine and esketamine has influenced nonmedical or recreational use. In this cross-sectional study, we investigated seizures of illicit ketamine in the US from 2017 through 2022 as a measure of availability of ketamine for nonmedical use.

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2804864