Ketamine’s use as a human and animal anesthetic has evolved since its discovery in the 1960s. It is now known as a psychedelic party drug as well as a promising new treatment for severe depression. Ketamine is now linked to Friends star Matthew Perry’s tragic death.
According to the autopsy report, the actor died as a result of the acute effects of the mind-altering drug ketamine. The 54-year-old drowned in his Los Angeles home by accident.
What is ketamine?
Researchers at the National Institutes of Health discovered in 2006 that an intravenous dose of ketamine could relieve severe depression in just a few hours. In comparison, other antidepressant medications, such as Prozac and Zoloft, can take weeks to work and do not work for every patient.
Dr. Martin Teicher, an associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and director of the Developmental Biopsychiatry Research Program at McLean Hospital, told NPR in 2018 that the new ketamine applications were “actually one of the biggest advances in psychiatry in a very long time.”
In 2019, the Food and Drug Administration approved Spravato, a nasal spray, and the first ketamine-based antidepressant.
Even though ketamine works quickly, research has shown that the effects fade after a few days or weeks.
Perry was receiving ketamine infusion therapy for depression and anxiety, with the most recent infusion administered a week and a half before his death, according to his autopsy report. However, the ketamine used for that therapy was unlikely to be the cause of Perry’s death because the drug’s half-life in the system is three to four hours or less, according to the report.
It’s still unclear how or when Perry was given more ketamine in the hours before he died.
What are the side effects of ketamine?
Scientists have continued to investigate new ways to use ketamine to treat psychiatric issues such as substance use disorders and PTSD.
Researchers are also attempting to extend the effects of ketamine. According to a study published last year, the drug given to patients who play computer games designed to boost self-esteem after a ketamine infusion appeared to extend the anesthetic’s benefits for up to three months after the therapy.
In August 2019, Elijah McClain was killed after a traffic stop by three police officers turned violent while he was walking home in Aurora, Colorado.
Three officers brought the 23-year-old to the ground and applied two carotid holds to him. McClain was then given a large dose of ketamine — at least 500 milligrams — by two Aurora Fire Rescue paramedics who arrived on the scene. While in the ambulance, his heart stopped, and he never regained consciousness. A few days later, he was declared brain dead.
The paramedics, Peter Cichuniec and Jeremy Cooper are on trial on several felony charges.
Aurora Police Officers Jason Rosenblatt and Nathan Woodyard were acquitted in their respective trials. Randy Roedema, the third officer, was charged with lesser offenses.