Ethnographic Accounts of Ketamine Explorations in Psychedelic Culture
Kenneth Ring, Ralph Metzner, Philip E. Wolfson
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies July 1, 2014 DOI: 10.24972/ijts.2014.33.2.175 via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractThe off-label use of ketamine as a mind-altering substance originated not in laboratories but within the psychedelic culture emerging from the 1960s counterculture movement. Without such experimentation, the drug's therapeutic effects might have gone unnoticed and unresearched. Personal accounts, both inspiring and cautionary, reveal cultural contexts where ketamine was found to be much more than a reliable anesthetic.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Historical analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Ketamine |
| Keywords | Counterculture Ethnography Psychology Aesthetics |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key finding | Ketamine's therapeutic effects were discovered through off-label use in psychedelic counterculture, not in laboratory settings. |
Abstract
Off-label use of ketamine as a mind-altering substance did not begin in the laboratory, but in the psychedelic culture that grew out of the 1960s counterculture movement. Whatever the risks and limitations of such experimentation, without them the remarkable therapeutic effects of the drug might well have gone unnoticed, and unresearched. The following personal accounts-both inspiring and cautionary-offer glimpses into the cultural contexts that found ketamine to be much more than a reliable anesthetic.