Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, Vol 33(5), Oct 2025, 448-458; doi:10.1037/pha0000788
Ketamine is increasingly used in community clinics as a long-term treatment for different psychiatric and pain conditions, including substance use disorders. Data are lacking, however, regarding the potential influence of ketamine on other substance use. In this secondary analysis, we aimed to explore the relationship between medical ketamine and other substance use among real-world patients by combining quantitative and qualitative data. In an online anonymous pilot survey (N = 201), patients rated change in other substance use since medical ketamine initiation and elaborated on their subjective experiences. Most patients self-reported positive/desirable change (54.7%) or no change in substance use (44.3%). Participants reporting past problematic substance use had significantly greater positive change compared with the groups of participants reporting present or no history of problematic substance use (ps