Ketamine 101

Straight answers to the questions people actually ask

The internet is full of half-truths about ketamine. These pages answer the most-Googled questions honestly, correct the common myths, and cite the evidence, so you can make a decision based on facts rather than headlines.

Question

Is Ketamine a Horse Tranquilizer?

The "horse tranquilizer" label is a half-truth that scares people away from an FDA-approved human medicine. Here's the honest story.

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Question

Is Ketamine a Psychedelic?

Yes and no, and the distinction is more interesting than the label. Here's the honest pharmacology.

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Question

Is At-Home Ketamine Therapy Legit?

Yes, when it's done right. The catch is that "done right" varies a lot between practices. Here's how to tell the real thing from the rest.

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Question

How Many Ketamine Sessions Do I Need?

There is no universal number, but there is a standard starting point. Here's how the course actually works and what determines your number.

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Question

Is Ketamine Microdosing?

"Microdosing" is the wrong word for it, but the worry underneath the question, whether frequent dosing is safe, has a reassuring and evidence-backed answer.

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Question

Is Ketamine Addictive?

The honest answer depends entirely on how it is used. Recreational ketamine can be addictive; supervised, episodic therapeutic ketamine carries low addiction risk — and that difference is the whole point.

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Question

How Long Does Ketamine Last?

Two different clocks: the session experience lasts about an hour or two, while the antidepressant effect from a course lasts days to weeks — which is why treatment is a series plus maintenance.

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Question

Is Ketamine Safe Long-Term?

The long-term harms people worry about come from chronic high-dose recreational use. Supervised, low-dose therapeutic use has a reassuring safety profile so far — but honest long-term data is still maturing.

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Question

What Is a K-Hole?

A "K-hole" is the deep dissociative state ketamine produces at higher doses. In recreational use it can be disorienting and frightening; in therapy, a deep dissociative state is dosed deliberately and held safely — because that depth is where the therapeutic effect lives.

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Every answer here is reviewed by Dr. Ben Soffer, DO and cites primary sources you can click through to verify. Educational content, not medical advice. To find out whether ketamine therapy is right for you, check your eligibility.