Nonmedical ketamine use in the US went up nearly 80% from 2021 to 2023.
The facts on K.
Every fact links to its source.
Read the evidence below
What the numbers say.
These studies track ketamine use over time.
Ketamine use among US adults went up 82% from 2015 to 2019.
US poison centers got twice as many ketamine cases in 2023 as in 2019.
Ketamine was found in 216 overdose deaths in 2024, up from 153 in 2020. That's in the same 25 states and DC each year.
The Miami-Dade medical examiner found ketamine in 15 deaths in 2017. In 2023, it found ketamine in 68. About 1 in 4 of those people had been given ketamine by medics or doctors.
Memory problems
Ketamine wipes your memory while you're high. Heavy use is tied to lasting memory problems.
Ketamine can wipe your memory of what happened while you were on it.
People who used ketamine often had worse memory. The more they used, the worse it got.
Some memory problems can get better after you stop.
Brain changes
Brain scans of long-term heavy users show less gray matter and weaker white matter.
A review of 16 brain-imaging studies found that people who used ketamine heavily for years had less gray matter and weaker white matter than non-users.
In people dependent on ketamine, the front of the brain looked different on scans. The more they had used, the bigger the change.
People with a ketamine problem had a thinner outer layer of the brain. It was thinnest in the parts you use to plan and make decisions.
Low mood
Frequent use goes with worse depression. Ketamine from a doctor is a different thing.
Ketamine from a doctor is different.
Ketamine from a doctor is different. A drug made from ketamine, called esketamine, is approved to treat hard-to-treat depression. If you're in treatment, keep following your doctor's plan.
People who used ketamine often got more depressed over a year. So did people who had just quit.
Regular ketamine users report more depression than people who don't use. It can last after they stop.
Suicidal thoughts
People who used ketamine reported more suicidal thoughts. Help is available 24/7: call or text 988.
Ketamine from a doctor is different.
Ketamine from a doctor is different. A drug made from ketamine, called esketamine, is approved to treat hard-to-treat depression. If you're in treatment, keep following your doctor's plan.
In a study of adults in Taiwan, people who had recently used street ketamine were much more likely to report recent suicidal thoughts than people who never had.
Psychotic symptoms
Ketamine causes hallucinations. Heavy users report strange thoughts that can linger.
Ketamine causes hallucinations. It changes what you see and hear and makes you feel out of control.
Even one dose can cause hallucinations and paranoid thoughts in healthy people. It wears off as the drug does.
A high dose can leave you unable to move and lost in hallucinations. People call this a "k-hole."
Frequent users showed more delusional and dissociative symptoms than non-users, and ex-users still showed some.
Work & school problems
Studies of heavy users report thinking problems and lower employment.
Falling behind at work, school or home is one of the main signs of a drug problem.
Frequent users do worse on memory and planning tests. You need those skills at school and work. People who had quit scored normally.
About 17% of unemployed US adults have a drug or alcohol problem. For full-time workers, it's about 10%.
Bladder damage
Regular use can wreck your bladder. Quit early and it often gets better.
Regular ketamine use can damage your bladder. Signs include pelvic pain, blood in your pee, burning, and needing to go all the time.
More than 1 in 4 recent ketamine users said they had problems peeing. The more they used, the more likely it was.
About half of users who quit said their bladder got better. Keep using, and the damage can become permanent.
Some people with ketamine bladder damage can only hold about 95 mL. That's less than half a cup. Some need surgery to rebuild their bladder.
Slower thinking
Ketamine slows your thinking. It can recover after you stop.
On ketamine, your focus, planning, speed and memory all get worse. Higher doses make it worse.
People dependent on ketamine scored lower on attention and speed tests.
When regular users stopped for 12 weeks, their memory and planning got better.
Feeling cut off
Ketamine makes you feel cut off. Heavy users describe losing friends and partners.
Ketamine can make you feel totally cut off from the world around you.
In one study, half of ketamine users said it made them less social.
Heart strain
Ketamine spikes heart rate and blood pressure.
Ketamine makes your heart race and your blood pressure rise.
Too much ketamine can knock you out and slow your breathing to a dangerous level.
Seizures mostly happen after an overdose or when ketamine is mixed with other drugs.
Injuries
You can get badly hurt on ketamine and not feel it.
Ketamine numbs pain. You can get hurt and not notice.
Some people on ketamine have died in accidents, including drowning, falls and car crashes.
In 2023, the Los Angeles County medical examiner ruled that actor Matthew Perry died from the acute effects of ketamine. Drowning was one of the causes that contributed. His death was ruled an accident.
Dependence
Ketamine can be hard to quit.
Ketamine is a federally controlled drug. The DEA says it can cause strong psychological dependence.
Many people who use ketamine often say they've tried to quit and couldn't.
Long-term users can feel anxious, irritable or down within a day of quitting.
Family strain
Drug problems hurt whole families.
A drug problem affects the whole family.
About 1 in 8 US kids live with a parent who has a drug or alcohol problem.
Families can call SAMHSA's free helpline any time: 1-800-662-4357.
Losing control
Ketamine can leave you unable to move or remember. Mixing it can kill you.
Ketamine can leave you unable to move and unable to remember what happened.
Ketamine has been used to sexually assault people. Watch your drink and your friends' drinks.
Mixing ketamine with alcohol, opioids or benzos can stop your breathing and kill you.
In 4 of 5 overdose deaths with ketamine, the person had also taken fentanyl, meth or cocaine.
Ketamine was found in 912 overdose deaths. It helped cause 440 of them. It was the only drug to blame in 24.
In Australia, other drugs were found in 95% of deaths where ketamine played a role.
Mystery mixes
"Pink cocaine" or tusi is a mix. It often has ketamine, MDMA and more. You can't tell what's in it.
In 8 Miami deaths linked to tusi, or "pink cocaine," every person had ketamine, MDMA and other drugs in their body.
Tusi is named after a drug called 2C-B. Medical examiners in Miami found it often has none. What's inside changes from batch to batch.