What you need to know about Britain’s growing drug problem

There is growing awareness of the problems caused by the use of a fast-acting drug called ketamine. Often referred to as K or ket, it was made a class B drug in Britain in 2014 and it is illegal to buy or sell. Possession of the drug can lead to a maximum prison sentence of five years and supplying the drug can lead to a maximum of fourteen years in prison.

Ketamine is an effective anesthetic and plays an important role battlefield and emergency medicine. It is used to treat pain in end-of-life care and can treat certain types of depression. However, it is the non-medical use that is the cause concern with some doctors and specialized medical care providers.

On the illegal market, ketamine is cheaper than cocaine and MDMA (ecstasy). about £20 per gram. Police services report major attacks of the drug, but global rates of production are high, and so is the wholesale price of a kilo of ketamine believed dropped from £8,000 to £5,000. This makes it an attractive medicine for young people and people with a limited income.

Ketamine typical It takes about 15 minutes to work and produces euphoria, relaxation and a slight sense of detachment. However, at higher doses it can also cause dissociation. This can be confusing and cause panic attacks and memory loss. It can increase blood pressure and affect breathing and heart function.

The consequences can also be fatal. The Friends actor Matthew Perry died in 2023 as a result of using the drug.

Some urologists have also expressed concerns about this an increase in case of bladder problems (the so-called “ketamine bladder”) as a result of long-term and heavy use of the drug. Although there is no national data available on the number of people with ketamine bladder, there are other sources on ketamine use.

Ketamine first became popular as a recreational drug in the early 1990s. Usage among people aged 16–24 in England and Wales has increased from 0.9% in 2006–2007 to 3.8% in 2022–2023 – equivalent to around 220,000 people.

There is an increase in the number of young people attending specialist treatment services with problems related to ketamine use: 512 in the period 2021-2022 to rise to 719 in 2022-2023.

The increase is concerning because there are few services and interventions available that specifically address ketamine use. An increase in the number of people seeking treatment has not been helped by historic budget cuts financing drug treatmentthat is only now being addressed, and a lack thereof meaningful drug education and early intervention responses.

So is this increase in the number of young people seeking treatment seen in adults. Increasing from 1,551 in 2021-2022 to 2,211 in 2022-2023. There has been a fivefold increase in treatment for adults since 2014.

Self-medication

There is one suggestion According to experts, part of the increase in ketamine use is due to some people with mental health problems not being able to access treatment due to long waiting lists.

Rather than wait for specialist treatment, some people turn to medications such as ketamine, which provide some relief from their symptoms. Ketamine can create a feeling of detachment in users; this will be a desirable state for those who want to escape invasive mental health symptoms such as disturbing thoughts and feelings.

In fact, they find their own solutions by self-medicating with the drug. Considering that ketamine is readily available, relatively cheap, and fast-acting, it’s easy to see why this drug is attractive, especially since it doesn’t require long waiting lists or invasive tests.

Ketamine does not cause the same kind of hangover as alcohol and other drugs. This makes it attractive for those who have to be at work the day after use. It is also attractive for people with a zero-hours contract who have to work at short notice.

However, many people will also use other substances in addition to ketamine, usually alcohol. Mixing alcohol and ketamine can have significant consequences sufferedranging from slowed breathing to coma and even a fatal overdose.

Paradoxically, ketamine is being investigated as a treatment for those dependent on alcohol, including those who have not responded to more traditional forms of therapy.

As with the promise that other drugs, such as psychedelics, could help treat mental health problems, current evidence suggests that these drugs only effective when given in addition to therapy.

It is not clear whether Britain has reached peak ketamine use. Most medications go in and out of fashion. It is understood the drug was originally banned in 2005 and penalties were increased in 2014 failed to put a stop to its rising popularity. What could have helped was investment in prevention, education and harm reduction services, but this did not happen and we are now seeing some consequences.

Avoiding ketamine use is the only way to ensure it doesn’t cause harm. But if we accept that young people and adults will continue to use it, we should aim to reduce the risk of harm. There are useful tools are already available, but reducing drug-related harm requires a more active response – one that is not dependent on people visiting websites or reading a leaflet.

We must put effort and resources into providing public health messages that reach those most at risk of harm from ketamine. At the same time, investing in and providing timely mental health care would reduce the need for those who self-medicate with the drug.

With a new government in Britain with a significant majority in Parliament, could this Labor government implement a policy change that could reduce suffering and save lives?

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