Ketamine and Kava... not so benign?

I'm not one to get all preachy about recreational, stimulant, anxiolytic, or mood-therapeutic use of drugs, but it really does seem that "they all have a catch." The only seemingly genuinely benign mood/stimulant drug is coffee (or tea or maté)(containing caffeine, plus there are a few other xanthines, such as theobromine, found in chocolate, and theophylline, which is also found in tea, along with caffeine, but in tiny quantities). But even those have their detractors. Anyway, the latest fad drug that even in pretty main line circles has gained a lot of acceptance, ketamine, turns out to have some pretty serious side effects, affecting the lining of the bladder: 

https://futurism.com/neoscope/ketamine-young-people-bladder.

It's only one article, but I would think long and hard before using this drug. 

Another one is kava, which is legal and sold in "kava bars." (Native to the "South Seas," and in use for centuries there, it contains at least 18 different related alkaloid kavalactones as the active ingredients, including kavain, methysticin, yangonin, and their molecular variants). I read (sorry don't have a citation) that it is associated with rather severe liver damage in some moderate to heavy users. You say "liver damage," and I tend to say, "no, thanks."

 

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