KETAMINE'S WOO-WOO Rebrand

Once known as a DANGEROUS PARTY DRUG, KETAMINE is now being RESEARCHED as a TREATMENT for DEPRESSION. But what's at STAKE when it's MARKETED as WELLNESS?

- SHAYLA LOVE

In the spring of 2022, Rose Gramuglia Santiago arrived at a penthouse suite in downtown Manhattan. There was a waiting room that was tastefully appointed with plants and books. In a darkened treatment room, Santiago lay in a reclining chair as a nurse explained the dose of ketamine she would receive through an intramuscular shot.

Santiago had the distinct impression that she went into a tunnel or outer space. In that first journey, she wondered if she had died. She did six sessions, twice a week for three weeks. "In one session, I recall screaming, 'Help! Help! Am I dead? I can't be dead! I have two kids," she says. "And there was no one there holding my hand or reassuring me that I was okay."

Ketamine has been FDA-approved for use as an anesthetic since 1970 and is now being researched for the treatment of several mental health disorders, including depression and substance abuse. In 2019, the FDA approved the ketamine derivative esketamine for treatment-resistant depression, including brand-name Spravato, which is administered as a nasal spray.

Ketamine's latest reincarnation, however, is as an offering at upscale wellness centers. Because ketamine is FDA-approved, doctors can legally prescribe it off-label as an IV infusion, intramuscular shot, or lozenge to treat various psychiatric disorders and with varying levels of therapeutic support-though it is often not covered by insurance. It has even been offered via telemedicine platforms that sprung up overnight in 2020-along with their targeted social-media ads-when telehealth regulations were loosened during the pandemic.