Ex-NBA Star Lamar Odom Credits Ketamine For His Sobriety

KEY POINTS

Lamar Odom is alive, sober and happy
Ketamine is a synthetic drug used as an anesthetic
Odom was previously married to Khloe Kardashian

Former NBA star Lamar Odom, who had been grappling with drug abuse for a few years now, seems to be on the road to recovery. After surviving a fatal overdose in 2015, Odom is now focusing on his recuperation and has credited anesthetic medicine Ketamine for his newfound sobriety.

On Monday, the ex-basketball player appeared on Good Morning America and spoke about his recovery from drug addiction. Odum said that Ketamine helped him with his drug ordeal and he has been taking small doses of the synthetic drug under medical supervision for the past two years.

Introduced in the 60s as a dissociative anesthetic medicine, Ketamine was widely used in the Vietnam War. With hallucinogenic effects, this drug is also known to control severe depression but isn’t FDA approved for that purpose. Perhaps for the same reason, Ketamine therapy can only be monitored by a medical professional and can be used together with other medicines or treatments.

Talking about the drug, Odom said, “I went to rehab and did some other things, but ketamine came into my life at the right time.” He continued, “I'm feeling amazing. I'm alive. I'm sober. I'm happy.” Odom revealed that taking this synthetic drug in small doses during his session has substantially curbed his urge to use drugs like cocaine.

After Odom’s interview, health officials have realized that monitoring Ketamine in small doses can help people overcome addiction and even treat anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and other mental health issues in people who haven’t had success with other methods of treatment, reported GMA.

Odom was quite vocal about his struggles with drug abuse during his Monday interview. The ex-Los Angeles Lakers star said, “I don't wake up looking to do lines ... or waking up in a dark place or feeling unfulfilled,” he said.

“When Kobe passed away, you know, the old Lamar, that'd have been every excuse in the world for me to go get high, doing drugs didn't even enter my mind," he said, referring to the untimely death of his NBA teammate Kobe Bryant on Jan. 26, 2020.

Lamar Odom was previously married to reality star Khloe Kardashian. The couple got hitched in 2009 after having known each other just for a month and filed for divorce in 2013.