At age 55 I went in for a routine colonoscopy and when the doctor removed a large growth for biopsy he perforated my colon. This was realized after I woke up and I was quickly sent to the O.R. for repair surgery. The weird thing is for the next few days, despite pain, inconvenience, the inability to eat, and what should have been a righteous indignation at what was done to me, I was in a great mood. My wife Rita barely recognized me. It turns out they used ketamine for an anesthetic, and it got me looking into it. Some people report amazing benefits from it, and it’s legal in the US through medical professionals. I found a nearby clinic and tried 3 sessions with it. While it was interesting and gave me some short term relief, I decided it was not for me. Note: This was a clinical setting and there was no counseling or integration guidance to go along with it. So probably not a true example of what can be achieved by some people with ketamine.
After this I got hold of the book “How to Change Your Mind” by Michael Pollan which details his journey with trying various psychedelics. This is a fascinating book that provides the history and the research both past and present into various psychedelic compounds. As of this writing he also has a 6 episode series on Netflix with the same title, but I have not watched it since I already have the information from his book that I want.