Ketamine, or special K, is a strong sedative drug that has been around since the 1960s. Originally made as an anesthetic for hospitals and emergency rooms, the substance has made itself out into the public as a recreational drug and has established itself in dance music culture as a common ‘club drug’ along side MDMA, cocaine, LSD, and more.
Like marijuana and MDMA, extensive use of ketamine by people has led experts to find some possible benefits from it. In the last 10 years, studies have shown that it can reverse the kind of severe depression other traditional antidepressants can’t. New studies are also finding that ketamine could be a breakthrough cure for other mood disorders like PTSD. Seasoned ER doctor Darragh O’Carroll delves deep into the subject in a recent report from Vice’s Tonic, where he calls ketamine “the best drug on earth.” Even the World Health Organization is trying to evolve the current disarranged status of the drug in order to research more uses for it. Time will only tell what this means for the dance world.
