New details about Elon Musk’s relationship with ketamine have emerged a few days after the tech entrepreneur announced his departure from the White House.
Although Musk had previously mentioned using a “small amount once every other week,” the billionaire X owner may have been using ketamine frequently enough on President Donald Trump’s campaign trail for the drug to start causing some health issues, according to reporting from The New York Times, citing interviews with people Musk had told about his ketamine use.
Musk previously mentioned using the drug as a medical prescription to treat depression in an hour-long interview with former CNN host Don Lemon in March 2024, where he also denied abusing the drug.
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Musk is not the only celebrity who has used ketamine. The late actor Matthew Perry was using ketamine under the care of a physician for the treatment of depression, although the levels of ketamine in his system at the time of his death in October 2023 weren’t related to his last infusion, suggesting he was also abusing the drug. Other celebrities who have used the substance include Chrissy Teigen and Sharon Osborne.
Here’s what to know about ketamine.
What is ketamine?
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic that has some hallucinogenic effects, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
It binds to the NDMA receptors and is essentially a “stop” signal. It starts to interfere with the connection between your brain and your body.
The effects are dose-dependent, but it generally leads to a “disconnected” feeling from you, your person – and your body. Symptoms range from unconsciousness (like when used in general anesthesia) to an “out of body” experience or hallucinations.
Is ketamine legal?
Ketamine is a legal medication and is used as an injectable, short-acting anesthetic for use in humans and animals, the DEA says.
A ketamine derivative, esketamine under the brand name Spravato, is FDA-approved as a nasal spray to treat depression in adults, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Ketamine has also been used off-label in dozens of clinics across the U.S. to treat other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, in combination with talk therapy.
However, most of the ketamine distributed in the U.S. is done so illegally, per the DEA. It’s often diverted or stolen from legitimate sources, like veterinary clinics, or smuggled into the country.
Ketamine is classified as a Schedule III drug by the agency, which denotes substances “with a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence.”
Short- and long-term effects of ketamine
Short-term side effects of ketamine use may include headache, dizziness, sleepiness, feeling strange or “loopy,” difficulty speaking, numbness, blurred vision or nausea, according to NIDA.
Long-term, heavy ketamine use is associated with memory problems, depression and anxiety. The drug may also cause gastrointestinal problems, abdominal pain popularly known as “k-cramps” and uropathy, which is a blockage in the urinary tract that can lead to infections, or UTIs.
