Ketamine’s rising popularity was laid bare in a shocking report that revealed how recreational use of the potentially deadly drug has surged among young people.
It follows the heartbreaking death of drag star The Vivienne who died of a cardiac arrest linked to addiction to the party drug in January this year.
Ketamine use among 16 to 24-year-olds hit a record high in 2023, with almost 1 in 25 young people admitting to using the drug in the UK, according to the latest figures.
Now doctors are concerned this epidemic is only getting worse, with more individuals seeking treatment for addiction than ever before.
A new report published in the British Medical Journal revealed that between 2023 and 2024, 3,609 people started treatment for ketamine addiction in England, a figure eight times higher than the 426 reported just a decade before.
Use of the drug among 16 to 24-year-olds more than doubled from 1.7 per cent to an alarming 3.8 per cent between 2010 and 2023.
Commonly dubbed ‘K’ or ‘Ket’, the drug acts as an anaesthetic, producing feelings of detached euphoria when taken in high doses.
Taking ketamine can be fatal, especially if it’s mixed with other drugs. Ketamine can increase a user’s heart rate and blood pressure, putting them at risk of sudden cardiac arrest.
The substance — now used in private clinics for its alleged anti-depressant effect — can wreak havoc on the body, causing bladder issues and kidney failure with routine use
Special K, Ket, or Kit Kat (pictured), as it is also known, was popular as a party drug in the late 1990s, when it was commonly taken at all-night raves. But numbers are on the rise in young people in particular, with more people seeking treatment
Concerned medics from King’s College London said that the surge is being driven by ketamine’s affordability, as well as a lack of understanding of the damaging side-effects, which include organ damage.
Teachers have also expressed concern that the drug is being taken by children in school hours, as it has been dubbed a ‘rite of passage’ by Mark O’Hagan, headteacher at Sacred Heart Catholic Academy, Liverpool.
Dr Irene Guerrini, an addiction psychiatrist from King’s College London, said in the new report: ‘Long term use can seriously harm both physical and mental health, diminishing quality of life, affecting personal relationships and impairing academic or professional performance.’
Despite its classification as a class B drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act, for which the maximum penalty for possession is up to five years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, it is estimated to be available illicitly for as little as £20 a gram.
Ketamine is used clinically as a general anaesthetic, with even lower doses prescribed for chronic pain, treatment resistant depression and suicidal thoughts.
There is also some evidence that it can be effective in treating post-traumatic stress disorder and alcohol addiction.
However, Dr Guerrini warned that the drug is increasingly being used at doses of 250mg or more recreationally, which can rapidly diminish sensations and even inhibit memory.
Tolerance to the drug—which is usually sold in powder form that users snort—is known to build quickly.
Speaking now in a bid to raise awareness of the dangers of ketamine, The Vivienne’s family said James kept his initial addiction and relapse secret from them. The Vivienne pictured here with their sister Chanel and comedian Omid Djalili
This leads to users needing more and more of the substance to feel the same high, which increases the risk of overdosing, or experiencing serious adverse side-effects, such as bladder problems.
‘Ketamine induced uropathy and thickening of the bladder is a common and serious complication,’ Dr Guerrini warned.
This condition involves a blockage in the urinary tract that can cause urine to back up and damage the kidneys.
More than a quarter of regular ketamine users in the UK report at least one bladder-related problem, including a painful burning sensation when passing urine, needing to urinate more often and incontinence.
Higher doses can also lead to a phenomenon known as the ‘k-hole’, an intense feeling of dissociation and being unable to connect to reality.
According to Dr Guerrini, the only way to treat these serious problems is abstinence—where an individual actively chooses to stop taking the drug.
If a user fails to stop taking the drug whilst experiencing these problems, ‘irreversible bladder and kidney damage’ can occur, Dr Guerrini warned.
This can result in users needing a bladder transplant, or regular bladder instillation treatments—where drugs are used to try and stretch the bladder back to its normal size.
The Vivienne was catapulted to international fame after winning the first series of RuPaul ‘s Drag Race UK in 2019 (pictured) But amid their rise to fame, they also battled with a ketamine addiction which saw them have the drug for ‘breakfast, lunch and dinner’
Concerningly, Dr Guerrini added: ‘Patients attending the emergency department report that healthcare professionals do not seem aware that ketamine can cause addiction.’
The authors of the report are now campaigning for all young people presenting with urinary or abdominal symptoms to be routinely asked about ketamine use.
They say that the current treatment options for the drug are ineffective, and that developing a widely recognised better screening tools could help support earlier rehabilitation.
Dr Guerrini said: ‘Balancing ketamine’s medical value with rising non-prescribed use is a complex challenge.
‘The growth of private clinics offering ketamine to treat depression and other psychiatric conditions, alongside upbeat media coverage, risks normalising unsupervised or self-directed use,’ he added.
This comes as the family of The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, have revealed that the late drag star kept their ketamine addiction a secret for years.
In a 2019 episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Williams revealed to viewers they had been addicted to the party drug for years.
The Vivienne also previously described ketamine as their ‘breakfast, lunch and dinner’ at the height of addiction and at one time their drug use led them to be hospitalised three times in a single month.
Williams, just 32, was found dead in their bathroom after suffering a cardiac arrest related to substance abuse and ketamine side effects.
Their family are now campaigning to tackle the stigma around addiction and calling on the government to reclassify ketamine as a Class A drug.
This would put ketamine on the same level as cocaine and heroin and carry the highest penalties for possession, supply or production.
The Home Office is now considering reclassifying the drug, but opinions remain divided, with Dr Guerrini warning that classification is not the only issue.
He said: ‘A proportionate response should go beyond legislation to include clear governance of therapeutic use, investment in treatment and prevention, and balanced public messaging’.
