Ketamine Clinics Are Pushing the Psychedelic Drug Using False or Misleading Advertising   

Sketchy ketamine clinics around the U.S. are selling the drug to people using misleading advertising and without regulatory approval, experts warn. 

Ketamine is a psychedelic drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to be used as an anesthetic. However, many are distributing the drug over-the-counter to treat mental health conditions such as depression and anxiety.

While some reputable medical providers may use ketamine when traditional therapies like talk therapy and antidepressants haven’t worked, less-than-scrupulous retailers have advertised it as a general treatment for mental health.

Researchers from the University of Colorado, who published findings Tuesday in JAMA Network Open, identified 17 total advertisers who were associated with 26 clinics in Maryland. 

Advertisers promoted infusions of ketamine or oral forms of the drug, with 13 of them offering intravenous ketamine and two of them offering oral ketamine. Ketamine was often pushed as a treatment for mental health conditions, with 17 of them advertising it for depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, 14 of them advertising it for anxiety, and nine offering ketamine-assisted therapy. 

However, it wasn’t just limited to mental health, as 13 of them advertised it for chronic pain, and some advertised it for Lyme disease, substance use disorder, alcohol use disorder, and opioid withdrawal.

Of the 17 total advertisers, seven of them didn’t mention possible risky side effects, like the risk of ketamine abuse, and three of them even said that ketamine isn’t addictive, which is not true. Ketamine is a psychoactive drug, and there are several significant risks, including dissociation and the chance that it may exacerbate already existing psychotic disorders.

These treatments were often very expensive, costing anywhere from $360 to $2,500.

“These are expensive treatments for which patients generally must pay out of pocket and the evidence base is often not robust for many of the advertised uses,” said Michael DiStefano, PhD, co-lead author of the study, in a press release.

“It is important that people considering these treatments are provided with an accurate and balanced statement of the possible risks and benefits,” he added.

While the authors have not done a national analysis yet, Dr. DiStefano said that they estimate about 800 similarly unscrupulous clinics across the United States, not counting companies that will send consumers oral ketamine through the mail.