Scientists make strong advances in Ketamine research
New discoveries are only stopped by suffocating legislation and hard-to-get licenses.
Andrew Friedman (AF)October 5, 2026
Ketamine remains a drug that, despite increasing research, lacks definitive answers. However, since its discovery in 1962, researchers have succeeded in collating research and anecdotal findings. Much of this finding would show that its first use as an anesthetic was just the tip of the iceberg. Much more remains to be answered on the subject of ketamine. What is abundantly clear is that ketamine has the potential to change lives in a number of ways. Yet many in the world want to make sure it stays inaccessible. Ketamine's immense abilities have drawn interest from various communities over the decades. Medicine has been in love with the drug since its discovery. Meanwhile, ketamine has become an illegal club drug over the past three or four decades. While some continue to use ketamine or Special K for recreational purposes, most proponents of ketamine use see it as a therapeutic option. As with cannabis, there are numerous self-reports for ketamine that prove its success. In addition, there is an abundance of laboratory studies on the drug from the past half century. This wealth of information is obtained in the laboratory, sometimes in the United States. These types of results are not possible with drugs like cannabis, which is still a List I drug. Unlike cannabis, ketamine is a List III substance in the United States. The rating of ketamine and a recent surge in interest have resulted in an increase in patient treatments across the country in recent years. Dr. Leonardo Vando, medical director of Mindbloom's treatment platform for directed psychedelics, said the latest interest is fueled by the plethora of laboratory results and the 1970 FDA approval of ketamine, the only one for psychedelics. "Like other psychedelics, ketamine has been widely used in the research literature for decades," Vando told the High Times. "Ketamine is at the forefront of the resurgence of these drugs because of its potent antidepressant activity and excellent safety profile." Nations around the world, including the US, have embraced ketamine treatments because of its treatment potential and its various effects in the marketplace. Dr. Vando added, "Not only have we managed to add this amazingly effective treatment to our psychiatric arsenal, but we have managed to do it with inexpensive, generic ketamine instead of an expensive new drug. Ketamine studies continue to flock, offering new insights and market success. A June 2020 study was the most recent in the field to receive such interest at the public forum. These results come from a Cambridge University study of ketamine-sedated sheep in the hope of understanding the drug's effects in Huntington's disease patients. The study identified brain phenomena that could provide answers to how the drug induces out-of-body experiences and forgetful states in patients.
