KETAMINE
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
K etamine was derived from phencyclidine to be used for surgical anaesthesia. The first instances of the illicit use of ketamine were reported in the 1960s, with its popularity surging in the 1990s. Crime Survey for England and Wales data has shown a rapid growth in reported use of ketamine. Use in young people has increased by more than 200 per cent since 2013, and by 2010 26 per cent of surveyed people
Ketamine is a drug that requires specialist harm reduction and treatment – not a generic response. Mat Southwell, Beccy Rawnsley and Amy Massey look at how to deal with the UK’ s ongoing ketamine crisis
who used ketamine already reported urinary symptoms such as irritation and bleeding. Case reports from urology services also paint a worrying picture.
The UK government’ s focus on reclassification in 2006 and 2014 without a clear commitment to public health measures has coincided with a massive increase in ketamine use in those aged 16-24. Thankfully the ACMD has recommended that the government does not reclassify ketamine as a class A drug, and we await the government’ s response.
GENERATION K Coact has worked with the peer pioneers from‘ Generation K’ and other experts to gather learning on ketamine, and with HIT have developed a strategic training response to ketamine dependence and bladder syndromes. There has been a remarkable range of peer responses from Generation K around the UK – Coact has now gathered these peer pioneers into a ketamine peer advisory group( K-PAG), which will be a reference point for the development and delivery of this training model. K-PAG will also support advocacy for an enhanced policy and practice response to ketamine.
‘ I have worked with the amazing peer pioneers from Generation K to gather peer stories and photos that help explain the realities of the ketamine crisis to drugs and
Flynt / Dreamstime
16 • DRINK AND DRUGS NEWS • APRIL 2026 WWW. DRINKANDDRUGSNEWS. COM