Ethnographic Accounts of Ketamine Explorations in Psychedelic Culture
Kenneth Ring, Ralph Metzner, Philip E. Wolfson
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2014 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2014.33.2.175 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ketamine Esketamine |
| Keywords | Counterculture Ethnography Aesthetics Anthropology Art history |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that ketamine's therapeutic effects were discovered through off-label use within psychedelic culture, not in laboratory settings. |
Abstract
Off-label use of ketamine as a mind-altering substance did not begin in the laboratory, but in the psychedelic culture that grew out of the 1960s counterculture movement. Whatever the risks and limitations of such experimentation, without them the remarkable therapeutic effects of the drug might well have gone unnoticed, and unresearched. The following personal accounts-both inspiring and cautionary-offer glimpses into the cultural contexts that found ketamine to be much more than a reliable anesthetic.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on ketamine, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| From PCP to MXE: a comprehensive review of the non-medical use of dissociative drugs. | 2014 | Historical analysis | |
| A Dendrite-Focused Framework for Understanding the Actions of Ketamine and Psychedelics | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Neuroscience and the Near-Death Experience: Roles for the NMSA-PCP receptor, the sigma receptor and the endopsychosins | 1990 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| A unified model of ketamine's dissociative and psychedelic properties. | 2022 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| An Integrative Approach to Ketamine Therapy May Enhance Multiple Dimensions of Efficacy: Improving Therapeutic Outcomes With Treatment Resistant Depression. | 2021 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |