CNBC’s Jim Cramer said on Tuesday that Elon Musk’s revelation that he takes prescription ketamine to treat depression was brave and “saved a lot of people from committing suicide.” “I defended him as much as I could because there are a lot of people who would never have the guts to admit they took this drug,” Cramer said on “Squawk on the Street.” Cramer was responding to the Tesla CEO telling former CNN anchor Don Lemon that the treatment had helped him and would be good for investors. “Ketamine helps people get out of a negative state of mind,” Musk told Lemon. “If there’s something I’m taking, I should keep taking it.” The footage comes after Musk canceled Lemon’s new talk show on X, the billionaire entrepreneur’s social network formerly known as Twitter was released five days after the transaction. The interview was supposed to be the first episode. “It’s a shame,” Kramer said. Musk admits that he suffers from depression and admits that he takes medications that have helped millions of people, “and he’s been ridiculed for that?” Cramer said. “Why should we care that he needed a legal substance to create something that you and I can’t create?” said Kramer, who is working with Johnson & Johnson to understand ketamine’s benefits for depression. “This drug is a safe lifesaver; safe lifesaver means it saves a lot of people from committing suicide.” The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Johnson & Johnson’s ketamine-based nasal spray in 2019 to treat people who have not yet recovered from two Depressive patients who benefit from one or more antidepressants. “I hope people realize from this guy that he saved a lot of lives. I don’t think he did it on purpose, but he did,” Kramer said. For years, the “Mad Money” host has defended Musk’s brilliance as a visionary but also questioned some of the Tesla and SpaceX chief’s statements and stances on controversial issues. When the Wall Street Journal reported in January about Musk’s use of ketamine, some executives at Tesla and SpaceX expressed concern. Ketamine has been in the news recently after an autopsy report from Friends actor Matthew Perry stated that he died from “the acute effects of ketamine.” Ketamine is controversial for its use as a party drug called Special K. If you are having suicidal thoughts or are in distress, call the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988 for support and help from a trained counselor.
