I feel compelled to share a public service announcement about something I've been noticing more often in my clinical work: a surprising rise in Kratom use. Some people are intentionally using Kratom, aware that it's a plant with opioid-like properties. But more concerning are those who are unknowingly consuming it—often through "health drinks" sold at upscale health food stores, where Kratom is just one ingredient on the label. Kratom is derived from the leaves of the Mitragyna speciosa tree, native to Southeast Asia. While it has traditional uses and can act as a pain reliever or even help with opioid withdrawal, it also carries serious risks. In fact, it's banned in countries like Malaysia and Thailand due to its addictive potential, yet its availability in the U.S. continues to rise. [...]

Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World describes a futuristic society pacified by a daily dose of soma—a drug that ensures collective compliance and emotional numbness at the expense of curiosity, dissent, and authentic feeling. As an addiction psychiatrist and clinician who offers Ketamine-Assisted Psychotherapy (KAP), I often find myself reflecting on the parallels between Huxley’s vision and the rapidly expanding, commercialized use of ketamine in modern psychiatry. Ketamine has undeniable therapeutic potential Ketamine has undeniable therapeutic potential. When delivered within a structured, multidisciplinary framework—including careful preparation, guided administration, and integrative psychotherapy—it can be profoundly transformative. It offers individuals the possibility of loosening rigid patterns of thought, healing trauma, and reconnecting with meaning. However, when ketamine is prescribed or distributed without context—especially in the form of at-home lozenges or mail-order businesses —it [...]