What Science Says About Ketamine’s Risks and Benefits

KQED's Forum

Ketamine is perhaps best known as a party drug, and it has long been used in hospitals as an anesthetic. In recent years, it has also been touted as a promising, experimental psychiatric treatment. But when Friends actor Matthew Perry overdosed on ketamine last year, it exposed a network of unregulated clinics and unscrupulous doctors distributing the drug for off-label uses. In this hour, we’ll talk with experts about what we know — so far — about ketamine’s efficacy and safety.

Guests:

Smita Das, clinical associate professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences, Stanford Medicine; vice president of complex care and psychiatry, Lyra Health

Gerard Sanacora, professor of psychiatry and director, Yale Depression Research Program at the Yale School of Medicine