Jun 21, 2017

Using Special K to treat depression in L.A.'s 'Silicon Beach'

Victoria Arocho / AP

A clinic in Los Angeles is using ketamine, also known as the club drug Special K, to treat depression, according to a report from Wired.

Also used as an animal tranquilizer, ketamine is being given to patients in low doses at the Ketamine Clinics of Los Angeles, at a cost of $600 to $750 per infusion. Due primarily to the price, tech professionals from L.A.'s "Silicon Beach" are the primary customers.

How it works: One entrepreneur who frequents the clinic, Sean Spencer, told Wired the infusions last "50 to 55 minutes and cause mild hallucinations", but result in "ultimate peace." Steve Mandel, the L.A. clinic's anesthesiologist, has seen over 600 patients and reported improvements in 83 percent of them.

A word of caution: Other doctors argue there's still too much to learn about the drug to use it to treat patients. Ketamine is not currently FDA approved to treat depression.

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Shawna Chen
Updated 34 mins ago - Politics & Policy

Voters in Wisconsin, Michigan urged to return absentee ballots to drop boxes

Signs for Joe Biden are seen outside a home in Coon Valle, Wisconsin, on Oct. 3. Photo by KEREM YUCEL via Getty

Wisconsin Democrats and the Democratic attorney general of Michigan are urging voters to return absentee ballots to election clerks’ offices or drop boxes, warning that the USPS may not be able to deliver ballots by the Election Day deadline.

Driving the news: The Supreme Court rejected an effort by Wisconsin Democrats and civil rights groups to extend the state's deadline for counting absentee ballots to six days after Election Day, as long as they were postmarked by Nov. 3. In Michigan, absentee ballots must also be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day in order to be counted.

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Sara Fischer, author of Media Trends
42 mins ago - Technology

Facebook warns of "perception hacks" undermining trust in democracy

Photo Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images

Facebook warned Tuesday that bad actors are increasingly taking to social media to create the false perception that they’ve pulled off major hacks of electoral systems or have otherwise seriously disrupted elections.

Why it matters: "Perception hacking," as Facebook calls it, can have dire consequences on people's faith in democracy, sowing distrust, division and confusion among the voters it targets.

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Orion Rummler
1 hour ago - Politics & Policy

Obama: Trump is "jealous of COVID's media coverage"

Former President Barack Obama launched a blistering attack on President Trump while campaigning for Joe Biden in Orlando on Tuesday, criticizing Trump for complaining about the pandemic as cases soar and joking that he's "jealous of COVID's media coverage."

Driving the news: Trump has baselessly accused the news media of only focusing on covering the coronavirus pandemic — which has killed over 226,000 Americans so far and is surging across the country once again — as a way to deter people from voting on Election Day and distract from other issues.

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