Iranian actress, model, and talk show host Megan Pormer opened up about her healing experience with ketamine while chatting with former Los Angeles Lakers star Lamar Odom on the latest episode of Fox LA’s The Megan Pormer Show.
Pormer tried ketamine at least twice, calling it “one of the most incredible experiences of my life.” While under the influence of the psychedelic “I tapped into my consciousness and I was able to get a lot of answers that I’ve always needed,” she said.
Ketamine is a dissociative anesthetic. It is approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an anesthetic and painkiller. At higher doses, ketamine can act as a hallucinogenic. The medication has been found to help treat symptoms of depression and acute suicidality, though it has not yet been approved for these uses. Doctors, however, can prescribe ketamine off-label and legally run ketamine infusion clinics across the country.
During Pormer’s first experience with ketamine, she says she was able to have a one-on-one conversation with her father who passed away 10 years earlier. “I don’t want to say it was dreamy because I touched his hand and it was one of the most touching moments of my life,” she said.
Before Pormer’s career in front of the camera took off, she earned her Master’s degree in Medical Engineering from the University of Birmingham and her PhD in Biomedical Engineering from Imperial College London. The model scientist asked Odom if he had a similar experience while on ketamine.
Odom’s struggles with addiction and depression played out in the public arena years ago. But his road to recovery through psychedelics was also made public in the documentary Lamar Odom Reborn, released this past May. He told Pormer,
“Well, it wasn’t during ketamine, even though the first time I did ketamine it felt very spiritual. I almost described it like I went to heaven and I came back,” he said. “But I did do another psychedelic drug called ibogaine, which is like the grandfather of all psychedelic drugs. And I think that’s where I had the most spiritual experience.”
Ibogaine is a psychedelic compound found in the root bark of plants native to the African rainforest. It’s known for its ability to quell opioid and heroin withdrawal symptoms while also giving users a psychedelic experience during which many people are able to come to terms with the angst that led them to abuse opioids in the first place.
During his ibogaine experience Odom said he saw his grandmother as well as his young son, both of whom died on the same day several years apart, and both of whom he loved deeply. “I know he’s all right,” he said about his son. “I think that’s to mean, that’s her telling me that she’s got him. That he’s all right.”
