In a new interview on 'Good Morning America', the 41-year-old former NBA star reveals that he has been using the synthetic drug to keep him sober following a near-fatal overdose in 2015.

• May 18, 2021

AceShowbiz - Lamar Odom is opening up about his battle with substance abuse issues that led him to a near-fatal overdose in 2015. In a new interview in the Monday, May 17 episode of "Good Morning America", the former NBA star revealed that he has been using ketamine to keep him sober.

"I went to rehab and did some other things, but ketamine came into my life at the right time," Lamar told ABC News' Steve Osunsami. "I'm feeling amazing. I'm alive. I'm sober. I'm happy."

The 41-year-old shared he has been taking small doses of ketamine under medical supervision to treat his struggle with addiction for the past two years. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the synthetic drug was approved as a short-acting anesthetic.

The drug is also found useful in treating some mental health conditions and a nasal spray for treatment-resistant depression. The FDA also classifies the use of ketamine for mental health conditions as an "off-label use" of the drug.

This is not the first time for Lamar to get candid about his drug addiction following his overdose at a brothel six years ago. "All my doctors that see me say I'm a walking miracle," the ex-husband of Khloe Kardashian told Kevin Hart in an interview back in 2018. "I had 12 strokes and six heart attacks when I was in a coma."

In the Monday appearance on "GMA", Lamar called the terrifying moment "the healthy high." He further explained, "I don't wake up looking to do lines... or feeling unfulfilled. When [Kobe Bryant] passed away, you know, the old Lamar, that'd have been every excuse in the world for me to go get high, [but] doing drugs didn't even enter my mind."

Lamar's journey of battling his drug addiction will be chronicled in upcoming documentary "Lamar Odom Reborn" which will premiere on May 20.