China has banned tiletamine, a veterinary anaesthetic similar to ketamine, due to its sharp escalation in recreational abuse among young people. Previously unregulated, it became popular in entertainment venues, leading to 1,605 investigations in Shenyang alone between late 2025 and early 2026.
Germany emerges as a major ketamine transit hub, Volkswagen reportedly plans massive job cuts, and Thuringia's interior minister urges a ban on the AfD. Meanwhile, a Berlin orchestra relaxes its dress code due to heat, and a defendant in the Magdeburg attack is sentenced to life.
Hong Kong police arrested four men and seized 9.5kg of suspected drugs worth HK$7.2 million. The operation targeted a syndicate that allegedly recruited two mainland Chinese men through online gaming platforms to package and distribute drugs in the city.
A Colorado appeals court has overturned the homicide convictions of two paramedics, Jeremy Cooper and Peter Cichuniec, in the 2019 death of Elijah McClain. The court ordered new trials for the paramedics, who were found guilty of criminally negligent homicide. McClain, a Black man, died after being restrained by police and injected with ketamine.
Kenneth Iwamasa, 60, sentenced to 41 months in prison for supplying ketamine that led to Matthew Perry's 2023 overdose death; pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Matthew Perry's former personal assistant, is set to be sentenced for his role in the actor's death. Iwamasa injected Perry with ketamine, a dose that proved fatal. Court filings reveal Iwamasa's role expanded to addiction enabler and de facto doctor.
Kenneth Iwamasa, Matthew Perry's former live-in assistant, is set to be sentenced for his role in the actor's death. Iwamasa injected Perry with ketamine, a dose that proved fatal. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine resulting in death and is cooperating with prosecutors.
Erik Fleming, 56, sentenced to 2 years in prison for supplying ketamine to Matthew Perry, whose 2023 overdose death was caused by the drug. Fleming pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute ketamine.
Carly Schwartz wanted a solution for her mental health struggles. She found one, but not where she expectedOn a threadbare carpet in the living room of a Bernal Heights bungalow, I lay blindfolded on my back. Two middle-aged rescue terriers, one missing an eye, sniffed my feet and climbed up and down my legs. F**kin’ Perfect by Pink blared in the background, but the music sounded muffled and distant, like I was listening from underwater.It was 1pm on a Thursday. Instead of going to the office, I’d allowed a shaman named Jonathan to inject my thigh muscle with a large dose of liquid ketamine. Even in my compromised state, high and spread out like a corpse on a stranger’s rug, I knew I’d reached peak absurdity. I also knew I wouldn’t emerge from this activity with even a slight improvement to my mental health.Carly Schwartz is the author of the new memoir I’ll Try Anything Twice: Misadventures of a Self-Medicated Life and the former editor in chief of the San Francisco Examiner Continue reading...
The Trump administration announced Thursday that medical marijuana will be moved from Schedule I to Schedule III, a category shared with Tylenol with codeine and anabolic steroids. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said the change allows for research on safety and efficacy, providing patients better care. The rescheduling applies only to FDA-approved and state-regulated medical marijuana products. Cannabis businesses in state medical programs would receive tax relief under Section 280E, and researchers would no longer need Schedule I licenses. The DEA will hold hearings on broader rescheduling on June 29.
