Yes, Ketamine is Used to Facilitate Sexual Abuse
Despite the insistence of some prominent advocates, ketamine is in fact used to facilitate sexual, psychological, and physical abuse
The following is an excerpt from p. 217-221 of Chapter 4, “Mystical Medicine, Wicked Weapon: A Both/And Approach to Ketamine” from my new book, Drugism (2022):
[This excerpt picks up where the February 16th excerpt, “Some Issues with Ketamine,” left off.]
Keith Ablow was born in 1961, the year before ketamine was first synthesized. After studying neuroscience as an undergraduate at Brown University, Ablow attended the Johns Hopkins University Medical School, graduating in 1987. Throughout the nineties, he practiced psychiatry at various hospitals and medical centers in Massachusetts.[i]
In 1997, Ablow published his first novel, Denial. The book is about a perverted psychiatrist with a cocaine habit who has sadistic sex with women before murdering them. The fictional blend of violent sex, drugs, and psychiatric practice grimly foreshadowed the directions Ablow’s real life would take in the following years.
Before Ablow became known as a sadistic, abusive predator, he was one of the nation’s most popular psychiatrists. He provided therapy and counseling for senators, governors, and celebrities.[ii] His work was published in The New York Times and The Washington Post and for years he was a regular commentator on Fox News.[iii]
In 2011, Ablow published a book coauthored with Glenn Beck, the reactionary conservative television and radio host. The book, The 7, is about “seven key principles” for “personal transformation and fulfillment.”[iv] The same year that The 7 was published, Ablow began to “treat” a young woman less than half his age.[v]
The woman sought Ablow’s help in an effort to heal trauma from sexual abuse she experienced earlier in her life. Ablow prescribed the woman ketamine, which was administered by his business partner Guido Navarra. Over the course of the “treatment,” Ablow sexually, physically, and verbally abused the woman. When she told him she could not afford the sessions, he encouraged her to consider stripping or sex work to pay for them.
Ablow gave several other patients, all of them young women, similar “treatment.”[vi] He also prescribed drugs like Adderall to his employees, asked at least one of them to share the drugs with him, and brandished a gun in his office several times.[vii] Four lawsuits were filed against Ablow between 2016 and 2019.[viii] Several women came forward with horrid stories of the various ways Ablow had abused them. Most of them involved ketamine.
In 2019, Ablow’s license to practice psychiatry was suspended. But he continued to practice anyway.[ix] In early 2020, the DEA raided Ablow’s home and office.[x] A spokesperson for the DEA declined to say what was seized in the raid. Later that year, however, journalists at NBC reported that one of the items seized was a laptop belonging to Hunter Biden, who is himself a patient and friend of Ablow’s.[xi]
Seemingly unfazed by the slew of lawsuits and the DEA raid, Ablow published a book in 2020 titled Trump Your Life: 25 Life Lessons from the Ups and Downs of The 45th President, co-authored with Christian Josi and featuring a forward by Roger Stone.[xii] Ultimately, all of the women who filed suits against Ablow for sexual abuse received settlements. However, again, no amount of money can undo the trauma that has been inflicted on these women by Ablow.
The point here is that Ablow used ketamine as a weapon in his efforts to manipulate and abuse multiple patients. This happened quite recently and Ablow has, more or less, gotten away with it.
And while Ablow is, at the moment, the highest profile person known to have used ketamine as an instrument of abuse, he is certainly not the only one who has done so. We already saw in Section V how ketamine likely played a role in the death of the wealthy Sheraton heiress Marcia Moore. A thorough investigation by Joseph and Marina DiSomma into Moore’s case yielded information which suggests that Howard Alltounian, himself an anesthesiologist, used ketamine to manipulate and ultimately murder Moore.
Karl Jansen, in Ketamine: Dreams and Realities, wrote of a doctor who administered ketamine as an aid to psychotherapy. This doctor was sued by a former patient who accused him, the doctor, of sexually assaulting her, the patient, while she was under the influence of ketamine. The doctor insisted on his innocence and claimed that the patient had confused memories of sexual abuse with memories of his therapy sessions.[xiii]Personally, I am inclined to believe the patient, but it is unclear what the outcome of this case was.
As this book [Drugism] was being prepared to print, yet another case emerged—one which again involves a licensed medical professional who used ketamine to manipulate and eventually kill someone who was once his own patient.
In January, 2022, a young woman was found dead in a home in Maryland. Next to her were a slew of empty or partially used bottles of ketamine and other drugs, as well as several needles and an IV stand. The home in which her body was found belonged to an oral surgeon.[xiv]
Investigators determined that the woman had once herself been a patient of the oral surgeon. They had subsequently developed a romantic relationship and the woman moved in with the surgeon, who was roughly twice her age. Over the course of their relationship, he provided her unfettered access to potent drugs which he could obtain thanks to his medical license. He even set up an IV stand in his home which they used to administer drugs to the woman.
The drugs included ketamine—which he evidently encouraged her to use, as revealed by their text messages—as well as gabapentin, propofol, midazolam, and diazepam. A medical examiner ruled that the woman’s death was due to a combination of ketamine and diazepam, itself a benzodiazepine with potentially serious adverse effects. The surgeon was charged with second-degree murder, reckless endangerment, and various drug violations.
And although this tragic event marked the last time this woman would ever overdose, it was not the first. Text messages also revealed that she had survived a ketamine overdose just a few weeks before her untimely death at age 25. The texts more generally paint a picture of distress and confusion for the young woman as she attempted to navigate the barrage of sedatives and anesthetics which the surgeon fed her.[xv]
Even to an admitted drug enthusiast, this story is disturbing, to say the least. It shows that the potential which ketamine holds to be used for manipulative purposes is very real. It also shows that the use of ketamine in abusive scenarios such as this is not an isolated incident. It is a recurring theme.
Together, the stories of Marcia Moore, Keith Ablow, the unnamed ketamine psychotherapist, and the oral surgeon from Maryland show quite clearly that ketamine is not only an important clinical medicine and a popular recreational drug; it is also a chemical weapon, one used both by the state and by individuals, particularly medical professionals of questionable intent with access to the drug. More simply, these stories show how the drug can be used to hurt people, even end their lives.
Of course, anything can be used to hurt people. Some will argue that we should not let the fact that ketamine (or any drug, for that matter) can be used as a weapon affect our judgment of or enthusiasm for it. On the plus side, ketamine can be an effective treatment for various conditions and is vitally important in many countries which lack access to more expensive anesthetics.
Recently, ketamine has garnered attention as a treatment for depression, especially since the FDA’s approval of its use for that purpose. Perhaps periodic deaths and its application in cases of sexual abuse are all part of the price we must collectively pay for access to an effective antidepressant. But just how effective is ketamine as a treatment for depression?
From personal experience, I can say that ketamine is great at temporarily alleviating depression. The rapid and often intense escape from consensus reality which it affords us can be a wonderful way to interrupt or break a cycle of depression. But ultimately, ketamine cannot undo the actual causes of depression, which are themselves more numerous than the stars and incessantly present in our world. Death, poverty, hunger, alienation, loss—ketamine is powerless against all of these things which are the real causes of depression.
Ultimately, ketamine cannot undo the actual causes of depression, which are themselves more numerous than the stars and incessantly present in our world.
In 2016, ketamine was touted in The Washington Post as “the most significant advance in mental health in more than half a century.”[xvi] Precisely which half a century is not clear for, as we know, ketamine was developed more than half a century ago and has been used off-label for depression since at least the 1970s.
The Post’s language closely mimics that of a press release from Yale University published a few years prior. In it, Ronald Duman, a professor of psychiatry at Yale, described ketamine as “the biggest breakthrough in depression research in a half century.”[xvii] The press release is titled, “Yale scientists explain how ketamine vanquishes depression within hours.”
The image of ketamine as a silver bullet for depression permeates the popular media. A Newsweek headline asks, “Could Ketamine be the Ultimate Cure for Depression?”[xviii] A Forbes headline replies, “Ketamine is the Answer to Depression and Suicide.”[xix] CBS assures us that the wonder drug produces benefits “rapidly” and with a “single dose.”[xx]
But ketamine is just one of many drugs to have received such treatment in the press. No, ketamine is not the “ultimate cure for depression.” And most people need more than a “single dose” to fully reap its benefits. Amazingly, the above-mentioned press release from Yale even admitted that the drug’s benefits typically last no longer than ten days.[xxi]
As a result, some patients receive ketamine on a regular schedule—for example, every other week—indefinitely, in some cases for years.[xxii] Gerard Sanacova, a Yale psychiatrist who has studied ketamine, explained rather frankly that “it is very unlikely that a single dose, or even several doses of ketamine alone, will cure [one’s] depression.”[xxiii]
And while ketamine has received FDA approval as an anesthetic and an antidepressant, it is pushed for everything from anxiety to chronic pain to fibromyalgia to migraines, and more. It is also used to help people stop their habitual use of other drugs, such as alcohol and opioids.[xxiv] Ironically, in some ways, this surge in ketamine use resembles the opioid boom of recent decades. This is despite the fact that ketamine’s rise in popularity is concurrent with unprecedented media coverage of the transgressions of the pharmaceutical industry.
It is because of these issues—numerous health consequences, its use as a chemical weapon by law enforcement, its use in cases of psychological and sexual abuse, and the stark differences between its image in popular media versus the realities of its use—that we must embrace ketamine with great caution. Though it can undoubtedly provide medical benefit, its extended use can damage various parts of the body from the septum to the bladder and a few organs in between. And though it can produce great highs and even mystical experiences, it is also used frequently as a weapon, by teams of cops and paramedics as well as perverted doctors.
Endnotes
[i] Biographical information about Ablow was obtained from his entry on Encyclopedia.com. See “Ablow, Keith Russell 1961-” at https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/educational-magazines/ablow-keith-russell-1961
[ii] “Dr. Keith Ablow...”
[iii] MacNeill, “What we know…”
[iv] “The 7: Seven...”
[v] Manganis, “Pattern alleged in…”
[vi] Anderson and Crimaldi, “DEA raids Newburyport…”
[vii] Ibid. and Herman, “Ablow continues counseling…”
[viii] Manganis, “Keith Ablow settles…”
[ix] Herman.
[x] Karedes, “DEA raids Newburyport…”; Anderson and Crimaldi.
[xi] Dilanian and Winter, “Here’s what happened…”; Levine, “Feds reportedly seize…”; Cawthorne, “Hunter Biden and…”
[xii] See https://www.trumpyourlifenow.com/
[xiii] Jansen, 293.
[xiv] Morse, “Md. oral surgeon…”
[xv] Ibid.
[xvi] Solovitch, “One time party…”
[xvii] “Yale scientists explain…”
[xviii] Faloyin, “Could Ketamine be…”
[xix] Adams, “Ketamine Is The…”
[xx] Jaslow, “Ketamine may rapidly…”
[xxi] “Yale Scientists Explain…”
[xxii] “FDA approves form…”
[xxiii] Chen, “How New Ketamine…”
[xxiv] Sabharwal, “Ketamine Infusion | Latest…”
Sources
Adams, Benjamin. “Ketamine Is The Answer To Depression And Suicide, Says Mike ‘Zappy’ Zapolin.” Forbes, Oct 23, 2020.
Chen, Jennifer. “How New Ketamine Drug Helps with Depression.” Yale Medicine, Mar 21, 2019. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/ketamine-depression
Dilanian, Ken and Tom Winter. “Here’s what happened when NBC News tried to report on the alleged Hunter Biden emails.” NBC News, Oct 30, 2020.
“Dr. Keith Ablow Launches Rx NFTs of NFT Virtual Pills and Capsules.” Yahoo!, Oct 20, 2021.
Faloyin, Dipo. “Could Ketamine be the Ultimate Cure for Depression?” Newsweek, Feb 2, 2016.
“FDA approves form of ketamine for depression treatment.” CBS News, Mar 5, 2019.
Herman, Colman M. “Ablow continues counseling despite license suspension.” CommonWealth, Jan 16, 2020.
Jansen, Karl. Ketamine: Dreams and Realities. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies, Sarasota, FL. 2004.
Jaslow, Ryan. “Ketamine may rapidly treat depression, scientists say.” CBS News, Oct 5, 2012.
Karedes, Drew. “DEA raids Newburyport home of former psychiatrist accused in sexual misconduct cases.” Boston 25 News, Feb 13, 2020.
MacNeill, Arianna. “What we know about celebrity psychiatrist Keith Ablow and the federal raid of his office.” Boston.com, Feb 19, 2020.
Manganis, Julie. “Pattern alleged in suits against Newburyport psychiatrist Keith Ablow.” The Daily News of Newburyport, Feb 23, 2019.
Manganis, Julie. “Keith Ablow settles sexual misconduct lawsuits.” The Salem News, Jun 26, 2019.
Morse, Dan. “Md. oral surgeon is charged in overdose.” The Washington Post, Mar 23, 2022.
Sabharwal, Anuneet. “Ketamine Infusion | Latest Treatment For Suicidal Depression Alcohol Opioid Cocaine Addiction.” Oct 8, 2021.
Solovitch, Sara. “One time party drug hailed as miracle for treating severe depression.” The Washington Post, Feb 1, 2016.
“The 7: Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life.” Simon & Schuster. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-7/Glenn-Beck/9781451641530
“Yale scientists explain how ketamine vanquishes depression within hours.” Yale News, Oct 4, 2012.
Photo credits
Photo of Keith Ablow from IMDb at https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2104753/
Cover of Denial from Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/Denial-Keith-R-Ablow/dp/0312983883
Photo of IV stand from Blickman at https://www.blickman.com/category/iv-stands
Photo of ketamine vial from the Alcohol and Drug Foundation at https://adf.org.au/drug-facts/ketamine/
#drugism #drugs #ketamine #abuse #depression #pain #capitalism