The drug ketamine: a double edged sword for mental health professionals.

Ketamine was developed in the late 1950s as a potential general anesthetic agent. However, soon it became drug of abuse due to its property of giving “high”. Ever since there have been no systematic studies of ketamine abuse, dependence or withdrawal states in humans, barring some anecdotal case reports. Recently researchers have shown interest in ketamine as a novel agent for the treatment of depression. However, most research does not shed light on its addiction potential. In this paper, we present a case of ketamine dependence with interesting phenomenology, withdrawal symptoms which responded well to naltrexone. Implications of such cases for health professionals particularly psychiatrists and addiction specialists is discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]