Ketamine could be used to help cure severe depressions

There has been growing interest in the treatment.

Yup, that's right, the party drug is thought to have the potential to treat severe depression.

In Scotland, there has been growing interest in using the drug, which is linked to serious health problems, even fatalities, as a medical treatment for depression.

By the end of the year, psychiatrist Professor Andrew McIntosh hopes to set up a clinic by the end of the year offering the Category B drug.

The ketamine treatment will be offered as an alternative to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Professor McIntosh thinks the therapy could offer patients with the most hard-to-treat depression an alternative.

Even after taking multiple antidepressants and multiple different treatments, there's a small number of people who don't respond very well to any of those treatments, so ketamine gives them additional hope and it's been shown to be effective.

"And it's an extra thing we could be doing to help our patients that is not currently available widely in Scotland."

This comes after a clinic in Lanarkshire began offering the treatment to clients with treatment-resistant depression.

Eulas clinic in Hamilton opened under licence from Healthcare Improvement Scotland. They charge £6,000 for a programme of four intravenous ketamine infusions and a course of psychotherapy.

While the drug is not licensed for routine depression treatment, it can be used 'off-label' by doctors and psychiatrists.

One of the 12 patients undergoing the treatment, Alex, believes the infusions made her more receptive to psychotherapy.

"Before, I was really depressed," she said

"Now I feel like I'm doing pretty well. I am active, I am trying new things, traveling again, and kind of getting back to the person I felt like I used to be."

Director of the Eulas clinic, Sean Gillen, says patients must have a diagnosed condition and be assessed by a psychiatrist to begin the treatment.

He further highlighted the cost of the therapy and how it may be out of reach for many people, saying he hopes it will become accessible by the NHS soon.

"Most people don't have that kind of money and that's why we'd like to enter a partnership with the NHS," he stated.

Dr Anna Ross, a lecturer in health and social policy at the University of Edinburgh and co-founder of Scottish Psychedelic Research Group, commented: "I've been involved in drugs policy and drugs using communities now for about 20 years, and ketamine in and of itself has not been a substance I've known to be a positive substance as such, but it's really come to the fore in the UK because we don't have access to psilocybin.

"So therefore clinics like the Eulas clinic and NHS facilities are starting to look at ketamine because it already has a scheduling and it can already be used for psychedelic therapy."

Ketamine is often used recreationally and has often made headlines in tragic situations.

Earlier this year, it was linked to the death of Ru Paul's Drag Race star The Vivienne. It was also revealed that Friends actor, Matthew Perry died from 'acute effects of ketamine' in 2023.