Ketamine & the Era of Dissociation

Recreational ketamine use is on the rise. But why are some people using it to dissociate in the club?

Ketamine – a dissociative anesthetic – is illegal without a prescription and can potentially be harmful. Yet, it has had a massive rise in recreational use over the past decade.

One study found that use increased by 81.8% from 2015 to 2019 and rose another 40% from 2021 to 2022. What is driving the illicit drug's sudden popularity?

And is it's dissociative properties indicative of our times? Brittany chats with P.E.

Moskowitz , a journalist and author of Breaking Awake: A Reporter’s Search for a New Life, and a New World, Through Drugs , which explores our national mental health and drug use crises, and Benjamin Breen , associate professor of history at UC Santa Cruz, who specializes in the histories of science, medicine and drugs and is the author of the book, Tripping on Utopia . Together they investigate why ketamine is showing up in more people's social lives.

Warning: this episode contains discussion of illegal drugs and drugs use and may not be suitable for all listeners. (0:00) Why Ketamine is the party drug on the moment (5:12) What recreational drug users say about it's affects (13:06) Why ketamine's dissociative effects match today's cultural anxieties (17:24) Safety concerns for recreational ketamine use (19:42) Responding to listeners comments For more information on the science of ketamine, check out NPR's Short Wave podcast . Follow Brittany Luse on Instagram: @bmluse For handpicked podcast recommendations every week, subscribe to NPR’s Pod Club newsletter at .

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