Thank you for reading and commenting!
Ketamine is super effective and fast acting. Its duration is short and disappears quickly.
You mentioned that Ketamine reach is peak quickly, and the effects also fade quickly, giving way to normal consciousness completely. You also made a comparison LSD, which makes a lot of sense, since after the LSD wears off (sometimes more than 8 hours), the participant usually still feels something, what is called afterglow.
I would like to agree with you partially and bring an important point to the Ketamine discussion, I think the following is important for any Ketamine patient to know.
Ketamine has been used clinically in a therapeutic way for more than 20 years. We actually know a lot about its effects and harm potential. However, a huge part (if not 100%) of the Ketamine experience is completely subjective and falls in a sort of scientific blind-spot. Basically, scientists still need to develop a whole new vocabulary to start mapping the mystical experience effectively. This means that there are parts of the Ketamine experience that you can't find in research papers.
Alright, but what do we know?
Specialists believe that Ketamine carries low potential for creating physical or chemical addiction. Nevertheless, Ketamine is broadly recognized as a drug that has a high potential for abuse. The leading theory is that this aspect of the substance that makes it quick to reach the peak and the fact that people return to their normal state of mind in a few minutes after ingestion, makes people more prone to abusing Ketamine in inappropriate moments.
For example, students using Ketamine between classes, or a worker getting high on Keta during their break.
In terms of its effectivity in comparison with LSD, LSD is much safer than Ketamine, it is not even comparable. The reason we can't compare both substances in terms of their harm potential is that LSD has no known lethal dose, while Ketamine is 4 grams.
Another advantage of LSD in a clinical context is that LSD has been shown to bring acute improvements in patients suffering from a variety of mental health issues (depression, PTSD, ADHD, ...) that can last up to 2 years. This is one or two doses.
Yes, the duration of an LSD experience is much larger than the Ketamine experience, but this gives you more time to introduce yourself to that mystical mind landscape, and you basically just have to go there one or two times.
I might write an article exploring this comparison in the future! Thanks again for the interesting comment!
