Ketamine has become increasingly popular for treating mental health disorders. But some doctors and clinics have taken it to the next level by delivering the injectable doses to patients — who can then administer the drug unsupervised. Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel, who is also a clinical professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center, spoke on 'Fox & Friends' on Monday about the dangers of handing out ketamine.
Ketamine was initially approved for use as an anesthetic in the U.S. in the 1970s, Siegel said. It was only indicated for treating depression within the last decade. 'It works for really severe depression by altering brain chemicals, but under the observation of a highly trained psychiatrist or anesthesiologist,' he said. 'The idea that it is now available with a little tele-visit, and then they mail it to you with a self-monitoring blood pressure kit, is extremely dangerous.
In response to the study, Dr. Justin Gerstner, psychiatrist and chief medical officer at Ellie Mental Health in Minnesota, told Fox News Digital that ketamine therapy has been 'quite transformative for a lot of our clients.' While patients get the benefit of not having to take medication every day, Gerstner noted that there isn’t much regulation surrounding how ketamine treatments are administered. 'The field is wide open, and it's a little bit like the Wild West,' he said.
Fox News Digital’s Melissa Rudy contributed to this report.