The K-Hole: A Deep Dive into Ketamine

First synthesized as CI-581 in 1962 by Calvin L. Stevens, professor of chemistry at Wayne State University, ketamine has recently emerged on the global market as a powerful psychoactive anti-depressant and pain reliever, being used to treat PTSD and other traumas. After promising preclinical research in animals, primarily as a horse tranquilizer, ketamine was tested in human prisoners in 1964. These investigations demonstrated ketamine’s relatively short duration of action and reduced anger and stress made it a favorable choice over phencyclidine (PCP) as an anesthetic. The original researchers were initially going to call the state of ketamine anesthesia as awake “dreaming,” while others such as Edward Domino, suggested “dissociative anesthesia.” Following FDA approval in 1970, ketamine anesthesia was first given to American soldiers during the Vietnam War.

More recently in 2000, the more antidepressant qualities of Ketamine have reemerged, including findings of acting as NMDA receptor antagonists aiding in fighting depression. Currently, Ketamine is primarily used for induction and maintenance of anesthesia, inducing a trance-like state providing pain relief, sedation and amnesia. At lower, sub-anesthetic doses, ketamine is a promising agent for pain and treatment-resistant depression. However, the antidepressant action of a single administration of ketamine wanes with time, and the effects of repeated use have demonstrated urinary and liver toxicity reported in 20%-30% of frequent users.

At subanesthetic doses ketamine produces a dissociative state, characterized by a sense of detachment from one’s physical body and the external world that is known as depersonalization and derealization. At sufficiently high doses, users may experience what is called the “K-hole,” a state of dissociation with visual and auditory hallucinations similar to the effects of LSD. John C. Lilly, Marcia Moore, D. M. Turner, and David Woodard (amongst others) have written extensively about their own entheogenic use of, and psychonautic experiences with, ketamine. Most people who were able to remember their dreams during ketamine anesthesia report near-death experiences (NDE), often associated with DMT (Dimethyltryptamine) rushes leading to psychedelic induced ‘dream’ states.

In recent years, the US has seen a proliferation of ketamine clinics. From 2015 to 2018, the number of clinics increased from 60 to 300; that number is only increasing being available in over 20 major cities in the US higher today including Atlanta, Austin, Boise, Chicago, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Raleigh and Reno. It seems as an anti-depressant and pain reliever with some psychedelic dream-like states may be a better alternative to other pharmaceutical alternatives, however due to potential harm there are other more healthy alternatives that may serve as better medicine from an entheogenic psychedelic perspective.