More American clinics are offering ketamine to treat depression

SAT NEXT to a nursery on an industrial estate in Naperville, a suburban city on the outskirts of Chicago, the Ketamine Wellness Centres (KWC) clinic does not look like anything revolutionary. Inside, a television plays videos of landscapes with calming music; tubs of sweets sit on a coffee table. The clinic is one of several in the region, and of over 100 across America, where patients are injected with ketamine to treat persistent pain or depression.

Interest is rising in the idea that ketamine, typically used as an anaesthetic (or as an illegal party drug), can help provide a lasting cure where traditional treatments, such as antidepressant drugs, have failed. PSYCH Global, a provider of information on psychedelic health care, estimates that the revenue for American clinics could be over $3bn between 2023 and 2029. Critics, though, worry that the drug can lead to dependency and that not enough is known about its long-term safety.