TITLE
Janus in the K-hole: the two sides of ketamine in problematic substance use.

ABSTRACT
Ketamine assisted therapy has been gaining ground as a promising new therapy for drug and alcohol problems. Simultaneously since the emergence of non-medical ketamine use, dependence on the drug has been reported. Ketamine has been growing in popularity and now one of the most popular recreational drug in the UK.

Ketamine is relatively unique amongst psychedelic like drugs both for its widespread medical use and also for its potential for problematic use.This talk will present data on these two aspects of ketamine, data from a recent clinical trial using ketamine in addiction treatment as well as a new study showing ketamine induced increases in engagement with mindfulness in people with alcohol problems as well as national UK data on people presenting to treatment for ketamine problems, and global levels of ketamine problems.

BIOGRAPHY
Celia Morgan is a Professor of Psychopharmacology at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom. She completed her undergraduate degree and Ph.D. at University College London (UCL) and completed a scholarship programme at Yale University. After competing her Ph.D., Professor Morgan worked at University of Melbourne as a visiting research fellow, returning to UCL for a fellowship and then Lectureship. She joined University of Exeter as a Senior Lecturer in 2013 and was given a Chair in Psychopharmacology in 2015.

Professor Morgan also holds an Honorary Readership at University College London. She is the academic lead for both the Exeter Translational Addiction Partnership (ETAP) and Ketamine for Reduction of Alcoholic Relapse (KARE).