18 Jul A Brief History of Ketamine
Ketamine has a long and storied history. From anesthetic to antidepressant, its history goes back almost 70 years. We’re going to take a brief stroll through history to learn more about Ketamine, where it came from, and where it’s going—along with a look at what it can offer you during the treatment of mental disorders, anxiety, treatment-resistant depression, and more.
Stroll with us—this is a brief history of Ketamine in North America. A story that begins and ends with hope.
Ketamine In The 1950s
The history of Ketamine starts with another drug that was used as an anesthetic and would eventually go on to enter the public eye: phencyclidine, also known as PCP or Angel Dust.
In 1956, Parke Davis Laboratories out of Detroit synthesized it as a veterinary anesthetic after it was found to work quite well in monkeys. After numerous successful experiments with animals, phencyclidine was then tested in human trials. Problems arose when doctors and researchers noted some concerning side effects in human patients.
According to Reset Ketamine, “instead of waking peacefully from anesthesia, some patients experienced acute emergence delirium lasting hours after their operation was over. They described feeling sensory deprived and loss of sensations in their limbs. Further studies concluded that phencyclidine produced a sensory deprivation syndrome.”
After more clinical trials, phencyclidine was deemed to be too dangerous to use on humans and its use as a human anesthetic came to an end.
Ketamine In The 1960s
Hoping to find another fast-acting anesthetic, Dr. Calvin Stevens, an organic chemist working at Wayne State University at the time, managed to synthesize some derivatives of phencyclidine in 1962, which he then sent to a pharmacological lab to begin animal testing. One of these compounds was discovered to be particularly successful as a fast-acting anesthetic in animal testing. This compound (originally named CL369 and then renamed CI-581) was discovered by merging a ketone with an amine. The compound was eventually renamed Ketamine.
In 1964, Dr. Edward Domino was contacted by Dr. Alex Lane, M.D., Head of Clinical Pharmacology at Parke Davis, and was asked if he was interested in spearheading the pharmacological study of Ketamine as an anesthetic in humans. Along with his colleague, Guenter Corssen, M.D, Domino became the first person to intravenously administer Ketamine to a human test subject.
“The first human was given Ketamine in an intravenous subanesthetic dose on August 3, 1964. Guenter and I gradually increased the dose from no effect, to conscious but ‘spaced out,’ and finally to enough for general anesthesia. Our findings were remarkable! The overall incidence of side effects was about one out of three volunteers. Frank’s emergence delirium was minimal. Most of our subjects described strange experiences like a feeling of floating in outer space and having no feeling in their arms or legs,” reads Domino’s research paper, Taming the Ketamine Tiger.
It was also Domino’s wife who coined the term “dissociative anesthetic,” to describe the feelings patients get when being administered Ketamine.
In 1966, Parke Davis Laboratories patented Ketamine.
Ketamine In The 1970s
In 1970, Ketamine gained approval for medical use, including on children and the elderly, from the Food and Drug Administration. It was then sent out to be used to treat soldiers who suffered injuries while fighting in the Vietnam War. Soldiers nicknamed it the “Buddy Drug” because it could be administered to the injured by fellow soldiers.
It didn’t take long, however, for staff from some hospitals to begin diverting the drug into the population-at-large, where it was sold under the street names “Mean Green” and “Rock Mesc.”
It was in this decade that psychiatric and academic trials of Ketamine for the treatment of personality and mood disorders began. In Argentina, it was being used in age regression therapy to regress patients back “to the womb.”
Ketamine In The 1980s
Ketamine’s use as a recreational drug began to rise in the 1980s and spread across the United States. New varieties of the drug began to appear on the illicit drug market about this time. Ketamine capsules, powders, tablets, liquids, and injectable forms gained popularity. Subcultures such as rave culture began to use it more regularly in the mid-1980s. At the time, Ketamine was often marketed as “ecstasy.”
It was often pilfered from veterinary clinics or diverted into the street drug trade through medical staff, and then sold under the street names Special K, Kit Kat, Super Acid, Cat Valium, K, Purple Jet, Vitamin K, and Special La Coke.
It wasn’t just the US that saw the use of Ketamine as a recreational drug rise. In the UK, it emerged on the party scene, often cut with ecstasy and called “Dud Pills.”
Ketamine In The 1990s
The unlawful use of Ketamine as a recreational drug continued to rise around the world in the 1990s. In the US, it entered mainstream rave and dance culture. A new form of house music, dubbed Ketamine House, was created and is still played to this day.
In Berlin, Germany, unrestricted Ketamine is a popular street drug and is being sniffed for its stimulant properties. In Russia, teenagers begin injecting the drug. Its abuse became a problem in Hong Kong, which the city still struggles with today.
Despite its popularity as a party drug, clinical trials of Ketamine therapy for the relief of chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia, burns, and migraines are ongoing. This coincides with the FDA’s change of stance towards prohibition-style laws in favor of more inclusive outlooks on life-saving treatments.
While there were numerous benefits, it was decided that something must be done to control bad actors. In 1999, the US classed Ketamine as a controlled substance in an effort to stop its street use.
Ketamine In The 2000s
By the early 2000s, Ketamine was no longer commonly used illicitly, once it was classified as a controlled substance. Morphine became a more frequent anesthetic choice as other drugs, such as heroin and cocaine, became more prevalent on the illicit market. Ketamine has an excellent safety profile and is used on children as young as one and a half years of age. It is also classified on the World Health Organization’s top safest most effective medications.
However, researchers never stopped studying Ketamine, and in the 2000s, medical practitioners began to notice Ketamine’s capacity to quickly ease depression and suicidal ideation, and so their research continued. Between 2000 and 2006, numerous studies showed that Ketamine was found to be a viable alternative treatment for depression. As a result, more doctors began using Ketamine to treat depression and other mental illnesses.
These successful studies and trials resulted in the opening of more and more Ketamine Therapy clinics.
Ketamine Therapy Today
Though Ketamine is still classed as a controlled substance, its research continues, and it’s been established that the medication may be used to treat specific mental health illnesses if administered under medical supervision.
Ketamine is currently being used to manage treatment-resistant depression, among other things. Low doses of Ketamine have also been reported to enhance the postoperative mood of depressed patients. It has been shown to be a fast-acting antidepressant that does not take weeks, but only mere hours, to take effect.
Its use in therapeutic medicine to treat both mood and personality disorders continues to rise exponentially, as studies surrounding its use abound. The FDA has also recently approved the fast-tracking of two different substances based on Ketamine to be used for depression treatment.
MY Self Wellness is a Ketamine Therapy clinic where we strive to help our clients overcome treatment-resistant depression as well as many other mood disorders. We’re not just another set of clinicians, doctors, and researchers. Everyone at our clinic has used Ketamine Therapy in order to change their lives for the better.
We’d love to help you, too. Every day doesn’t have to be a struggle—contact us today. Ketamine Therapy can help you start your new life today, and we will hold your hand through every step of the process. Relief is as easy as a phone call.
