Alcoholics should be given ketamine to help break addiction, new study suggests

Alcoholics should be given the illegal party drug ketamine to help break their addiction, suggests a new study.

The controversial drug, a Class B illegal narcotic in Britain, is often used as a horse tranquiliser.

But researchers found people with severe alcohol dependence were able to stay off booze for longer when they were treated with low doses of ketamine combined with psychological therapy.

The Ketamine for reduction of Alcohol Relapse (KARE) trial was led by the University of Exeter and funded by the Medical Research Council.

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