How Psychedelics Saved Former NBA Star Lamar Odom From Drug Addiction

In a new documentary about his life, former NBA forward Lamar Odom says the psychedelic drugs ketamine and ibogaine saved him from his drug addiction. He says the drugs saved his life.

The film, “Lamar Odom Reborn,” was directed by Mike “Zappy” Zapolin, who coordinated the psychedelic “intervention” for Odom.

Zapolin, whose resume includes a stint on Wall Street and infomercials, built his fortune registering web domains in the Internet’s early days.

I was having a spiritual mid-life crisis around 2011, where I had done everything society had told me to do, but I wasn’t totally fulfilled,” Zapolin told Page Six. “I had always had these good psychedelic experiences when I was younger and I realized in that moment, that I needed to go inside my own mind for some answers and some healing.”

That journey led Zapolin to spiritual guru Deepak Chopra as well as “Fast and Furious” star Michelle Rodriguez. Then, he met Odom. The former Laker had already overdosed in 2015. Zapolin invited him to a ketamine treatment.

“He was a little nervous, I’m sure, but he also knew he tried everything else and still had anxiety and addiction issues,” Zappy said. “He had always been told, ‘Don’t go inside, because if something happens and you flip out, you could get shot by the cops, or put in a mental institution,” Zapolin adds. “And it’s unfair, because obviously if that happened to a white kid, they’d be in counseling.”

Zapolin says critics of psychedelics need to look at the new research, the new documented successes in treating PTSD, anxiety, and treatment-resistant depression. “The paradigm is broken and so we have to disrupt it.”

Zapolin hopes Odom’s story will play a part in advancing the conversation around psychedelics.

“I would like people to see that no matter who you are, no matter how much fame or success happened [in your life] we’re all humans and we have trauma in our lives and there’s help for you,” he said.

The film doesn’t currently have a U.S. release date, but you can find more info here.