I think Ketamine has great potential, but the risk of abuse far outweighs the benefits.
You think the risk of abuse outweighs the above potential benefits? Seriously?
Additionally, dosage size and frequency greatly affects tolerance development. There is an order of magnitude difference between the amounts being taken recreationally, and the amounts that have been discussed for treatement.
Based on your stance, I assume you also are strongly opposed to the majority of prescibed anti-anxiety, muscle relaxer, and analgesic medication?
I think ketamine could work wonders for adults who understand the risks of the medication. But responsible adults like the one referenced in your quote are not the only ones taking this medication. I disagree with the use of ketamine and similar drugs because 1. I think many of these disorders are misdiagnosed. For example, a middle aged man could be having anxiety as a result of low testosterone rather than a chemical imbalance. 2. I've personally known people who took drugs in therapeutic doses(prescribed to them) similar to ketamine. They eventually became very comfortable with the drug and saw no harm in asking doctors for a higher dose and even taking it recreationally "once in a while." As you can imagine, once in a while became more frequent than they had planned.
That being said, I've seen anti-anxiety medications work wonders for people. The drugs are not the problem themselves, but rather the lack of education that surrounds them. People too often want to walk into the doctors office and get a pill to fix whatever ails them. My stance is that a quick conversation with a doctor does not warrant a prescription for something like ketamine, ritalin, klonopin, etc. but there are definitely people who need these drugs.
Source: my friend with a ketamine addiction.