The original club kids who partied on Special K are split over whether the FDA’s approval of a ketamine-like drug to treat depression is a good idea.
James St. James, who wrote “Party Monster”[1] about the debauched NYC club scene of the ’80s and ’90s, told me, “I was never depressed when I was on Special K. I’m all for it.”
Janssen Pharmaceuticals will try to keep its new drug, a nasal spray with the brand name Spravato, out of the noses of current club kids by having it administered only in a doctor’s office to patients who are resistant to other antidepressant treatments.
“I never did it, but my friends did and they’d bang their heads on the wall. They would turn into zombies. This is not a good idea,” said Richie Rich, who’s now a fashion designer.
At high doses, ketamine users experience what is called a “K-hole,” a state of detachment from one’s physical body and the external world accompanied by visual and auditory hallucinations.
“I’m not a goodie-goodie two shoes, but it just isn’t fun,” said Rich.
References
- ^ who wrote “Party Monster” (www.amazon.com)