A sub-set of psychoactive effects may be critical to the behavioral impact of ketamine on cocaine use disorder: Results from a randomized, controlled laboratory study.
Neuropharmacology November 1, 2018 E Dakwar, E V Nunes, C L Hart et al. 83 citations
Sub-anesthetic ketamine infusions produce mystical-type experiences that may help reduce cocaine use and craving. In a controlled trial with cocaine-dependent volunteers, ketamine caused greater mystical-type effects, dissociation, and near-death experiences than the active control midazolam. Only the mystical-type effects—measured by the Hood Mysticism Scale—mediated the reduction in cocaine use and craving over time. This suggests that developing ketamine-like medications that retain selective psychoactive properties, rather than eliminating all experiential effects, could be a promising direction for addiction treatment.