Self-treatment of psychiatric conditions using ketamine: Patterns, characteristics, and retrospective insights

While research on novel therapeutic applications of ketamine is expanding, particularly in controlled settings, there is limited exploration of its consumption related to self-treatment of psychiatric conditions. This study investigated the characteristics of people who use ketamine and psychedelics for self-treatment of psychiatric conditions, providing insight into patterns of use within this population.

Utilising the 2020 Global Drug Survey, the analysis incorporates data from 5831 respondents who reported self-treating with unregulated drugs to treat diagnosed psychiatric conditions. We compare three groups: those self-treating with only ketamine (n = 242), ketamine and other psychedelics (n = 1072), and non-ketamine psychedelic only substances (n = 4517). Negative binomial regression was conducted to assess the impact of self-treating psychiatric conditions with ketamine and other psychedelics on the volume of recreational ketamine use.

A high proportion (>60%) had prior psychiatric diagnoses, with depression and anxiety being the most common. People who used both ketamine and other substances reported higher festival and clubbing attendance than the other two groups. People who used ketamine and combined it with other psychedelics used it more frequently (incidence rate ratio (IRR): 0.729, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.336-1.581), while those using non-ketamine psychedelics only showed a significant reduction in ketamine usage volume (IRR: 0.160, 95% CI: 0.079-0.322) compared to other groups. Almost half of the respondents sought online advice before starting ketamine self-treatment.

This study extends knowledge about various populations using ketamine for self-treatment purposes, proposes areas for future research and suggests online platforms as the most effective place for harm reduction resources relating to ketamine use.