Ketamine clinics are popping up across California, but some question the treatment’s safety

By Andrea Flores

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    SACRAMENTO, California (KCRA) — Ketamine is an FDA-approved anesthetic used in hospitals, but on the streets, it’s sometimes used as an illegal party drug, taken for its psychedelic effects.

Now, ketamine clinics are popping up across Northern California, from Sacramento all the way to the Sierra. Doctors are legally administering the drug “off-label” to help people with treatment-resistant depression.

But some skeptics warn this unregulated treatment option may not be safe for everyone.

Corry Mendoza is a patient at ShaMynds Healing Center in Sacramento. She is a client for ketamine-assisted therapy to help treat her complex PTSD.

“I was in an abusive marriage for nine years. The abuse continued on for 15 more years through co-parenting and parental alienation,” Mendoza told KCRA’s Andrea Flores. “One session could sometimes feel like 200 hours of counseling. It literally wipes away trauma.”

This is her 11th ketamine journey at ShaMynds. Each session starts with an hour of talk therapy and intention-setting. The medicine is administered through an IV by a medical professional. Then, Mendoza waits for the ketamine to kick in with the help of a guide. After the ketamine therapy, which typically lasts about 45 minutes, Mendoza emerges for the treatment for another hour of talk therapy.

ShaMynds is one of the first ketamine clinics in Sacramento. Co-founder Dr. Aliya Ahmad says the response has been overwhelming.

“We are seeing an epidemic of what’s happening in mental health currently,” Ahmad said. “There’s a lack of seeing people benefit from conventional ways of treatment.”

As ketamine clinics pop up in cities across California, Dr. Smita Das, associate professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, says they should be approached with caution.

“Common side effects are nausea, drowsiness, dissociation,” Das said. “Rarely though, some people can experience a bad trip. They may also have paranoia, and also, in some cases, may have suicidal ideation.”

The new Institute of Psychedelics and Neurotherapeutics at UC Davis aims to study the effects of these drugs on the brain and their potential to treat mental illnesses, including anxiety and depression.

“Psychedelics specifically refer to these powerful compounds like LSD, psilocybin from magic mushrooms, and DMT from ayahuasca,” said Associate Director Dr. John Gray. “This would include drugs like MDMA, also known as ecstasy or molly, and ketamine.”

Gray believes the research is promising.

“The early trials, the contemporary trials of psychedelics, were incredibly exciting to people in the mental health field. The level of response in the people that took these compounds in those trials were larger than what we had seen in many other trials of traditional antidepressants,” said Gray.

Das warns ketamine isn’t accessible or sustainable for everyone.

“Patients may be pouring a lot of money into unproven treatments, not getting positive results, and in the end, they’re in a worse off situation than when they started,” Das said.

For patients like Mendoza, she believes her ketamine journey is bringing her one step closer to healing family trauma.

“We’re hard-wired to love. It’s not that hard. Forgiveness is easy. It’s just like, let it go,” Mendoza said.

A ketamine-assisted therapy session can cost anywhere from $400 to $800 per session. It’s currently not covered by insurance, and patients have to keep going back for maintenance treatments. Doctors say the research isn’t clear on whether this is a long-term solution for treatment-resistant depression.

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