Norman Ohler’s Blitzed fundamentally reshaped how we understand the Third Reich.
He was the first historian to treat seriously the fact that the Wehrmacht, the Nazi leadership, and much of the German population were routinely consuming large quantities of methamphetamine.
Marketed then as the pill “Pervitin,” methamphetamine can induce delusional megalomania and rigid, grandiose convictions. Ohler stresses that taking speed does not, in itself, make someone a Nazi, but prolonged heavy use can amplify extreme beliefs and help propel actions that might not otherwise have occurred.
Even the most hard‑line structuralist historian must concede that history unfolds through embodied human beings, with vulnerable brains and nervous systems. We are psychological – and therefore psychoactive – creatures, who have always used drugs in calculated ways to meet the emotional and cognitive demands placed upon us.
When future historians write about the early months of the second Trump administration, it would be surprising if they did not attempt a similarly psychoactive history of its dizzying opening phase.
Elon Musk is the world’s wealthiest man, with a net worth exceeding $400 billion. In the run-up to November 2024, he was “America’s biggest political donor,” pouring “at least $274 million into political groups in 2024, fuelling a spending spree that helped Donald Trump win the presidency.” While he is no longer involved in frontline politics, he manages the world’s most influential daily forum, X, and moves markets with companies like Tesla and xAI.
He is also an alleged ketamine addict.
In a viral video from March 2025, he was filmed goofily balancing a spoon on his face and performing parlour tricks with an expressionless, detached affect. The clip ricocheted across social media.
Was this eccentric genius at play?
Or was he high on ketamine?
Musk fired back on X (formerly Twitter): “I’m not on ketamine ffs.”
Yet this denial only intensified the scrutiny.
Ketamine, a potent dissociative drug originally used as an anaesthetic, has surged in popularity among Silicon Valley elites as a “miracle” treatment for depression and a tool for cognitive enhancement. Musk himself admitted in a 2024 CNN interview to using prescription doses “every other week” to manage a “negative chemical state,” albeit cautioning that “[i]f you use too much ketamine, you can’t really get work done – and I have a lot of work.” But investigative reports paint a darker picture. A 2024 Wall Street Journal exposé and a 2025 New York Times deep dive, based on insider accounts, claim Musk’s use escalated on the campaign trail and potentially caused bladder damage – a known side effect of chronic abuse. Sources described him travelling with a box of up to 20 pills, possibly including stimulants like Adderall, and indulging in illegal psychedelics, MDMA, and cocaine at NDA-shrouded parties.
The most jarring Musk moments occurred at the Trump inauguration celebrations in January 2025. During the ceremony, he appeared disconnected, at times gazing intently at the ornate Capitol ceiling while the proceedings unfolded around him, as if lost in thought or caught in a trance. Some observers described his eyes as glassy or unfocused, and at other intervals his gaze shifted rapidly, paired with unusual blinking and a slack jaw. This prompted speculation about his possible state of mind or sobriety.
On social media, viewers joked that Musk had “rebooted,” likening his apparent dissociation and odd gestures to a malfunctioning robot or neuralink prototype. Reddit discussions and meme threads debated whether he looked “high on Molly,” “zonked out,” or simply overwhelmed by the spectacle. Others adopted a more forgiving tone, proposing that as an autistic public figure, Musk’s nonverbal cues have always been atypical and should be interpreted with caution.
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An interesting take on what’s behind the mask of Musk.
You guys at CC aught to be wider read. But then you might become targets.
It’s interesting the play of contradictory forces at work in our global times of instantaneous communication. As if the psychosis is maturing, into what …
Into the aftermath, what else.