COLUMBUS — Ketamine, a medication widely utilized during the Vietnam War era, was developed in 1962 by the Parke-Davis Pharmaceutical Company. Primarily used in veterinary medicine for sedation during examinations and surgical procedures, as well as in emergency medicine and anesthesia induction in humans, its usage has progressively expanded for various other purposes, as documented by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Ketamine is now being used to manage depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder and chronic pain. Other managed uses in the medical field include the treat ment of opioid addiction and alcoholism.
Ketamine is a Schedule III non-narcotic approved by the Food and Drug Administration for general anesthesia. However, it can also be prescribed by doctors for “off-label” uses, such as treating depression or opioid addiction. While ketamine is safe to use in a controlled medical setting, it has side effects that make it unsuitable for at-home therapy. As with any drug, side effects will be discussed with the healthcare provider. Adults experiencing depression, anxiety, or PTSD who have not found enough relief with tra- ditional treatments may benefit from ketamine therapy. In a controlled medical clinic setting, administered by trained health professionals, ketamine has become a go-to treatment when nothing else has helped.
