Ketamine: Should it be upgraded to a Class-A substance?

First People Housing blogs are intended to improve engagement using well informed research from both primary and secondary sources. While elements of opinion are less frowned upon in blogging than journalistic writing, I have tried to restrict shooting from the hip and giving unfiltered opinions as if I am five pints down in the Red Lion.

With that being said, I feel compelled to start this blog with an assertion that I cannot truly prove as it is perhaps something I have not always looked out for nor noticed to the extent I do now. I say this to say: public drug use feels as prevalent now as I can remember.

I did not grow up in the swinging sixties, attend Woodstock 99’ or treat April 20th like December 25th growing up, however I have known people who use drugs my entire life. I have had family members working on either side of the debate between punishment and rehabilitation and I have of course taken different substances during my formative years. With that being said, it appears to me that the subtlety of usage seems to have been eradicated.

Among young people in particular, but also the UK as a whole, one of the substances deemed to be most prolific is ketamine. Earlier this year, Lydia Wilson of the BBC asked if ketamine would be the “Gen Z drug” as cocaine appeared to be for millennials and LSD for baby boomers.

Whether it is or it isn’t, ketamine is a substance with serious long-term effects, many of which are being seen throughout the UK.

For background’s sake, ketamine is an anaesthetic, sedative and pain reliever. It is so impactful that when the NHS isn’t administering it, tranquilising horses is another way it is used effectively. It is also recreationally used for hallucinogenic purposes by many in the UK.

According to GOV.UK statistics released this year, in the year ending March 2023, an estimated 299,000 people aged 16-59 had reported ketamine use in the last year – the largest number on record. Worryingly, the figures on usage are not the only cause for concern.

Ketamine-related deaths surged by 650% between 2015 and 2023, with recent data revealing that the drug is now linked to around one death per week across the UK. These statistics only account for the years up to 2023, however with the steep rise over the eight-year span, even senior optimists wouldn’t expect these numbers to fall when made public.

These figures were revealed by the UKAT Group via a Freedom of Information (FoI) request to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Zaheen Ahmed, Director of Addiction Therapy at the UKAT Group said the harm caused by ketamine is severely underplayed and that the drug “has flown under the radar” for a significant period of time.

"If this data goes unheard, these figures will continue to rise and rise, and it will be our younger generation who will lose their lives because they're so unaware of the severity of this drug,” said Ahmed.

The truth is, terrible events of recent years have vaulted ketamine up the news agenda and if it were flying under the radar, it is hard to see that being the case today. Last year, the cause of death of beloved Friends’ star Matthew Perry was revealed to be ketamine, causing him to drown in his Los Angeles residence. Furthermore, comedian podcasters turned de facto newsreaders (you know who) have pontificated about the benefits of ketamine therapy for years and they have millions of monthly listeners and viewers.

In another awful recent development, the death of James Lee Williams, better known as The Vivienne from Ru Paul’s Drag Race, was revealed to be a result of cardiac arrest from taking the Class-B substance.

Williams’ family have joined the campaign to re-classify ketamine as a Class-A drug, thus putting in the same bracket as heroin and cocaine among others. In turn, the punishments for distributing and supplying it would be harsher as they are with the other substances.

Earlier this year, Dame Diana Johnson, Policing Minister wrote to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) to commission guidance on whether it should remain as a Class-B substance or become a Class-A drug. You might be asking why the government are seeking advice instead of taking action, however they have a statutory duty to consult the ACMD under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 before amending the law.

Dame Diana said the government would “carefully consider” their recommendations. While work needs to be done to combat the rising numbers of people using and dying as a result of ketamine, it is difficult to envisage major changes to the figures simply by declaring it a Class-A substance. According to ONS figures, In the year to March 2023, around 2.4% of adults aged 16 to 59—and 5.1% of those aged 16 to 24—reported using powder cocaine within the past year. It is important to note that the findings on cocaine and ketamine only account for people who have admitted it – they could and very likely are noticeably higher.

As is often the case, media attention and public discourse will likely play a pivotal role in how this moves forward. The fact that the government are working with ACMD suggests that change will come in one form or the other. There have been thought-provoking BBC interviews and documentaries on the issue such as Young and Addicted: Generation Ketamine which keep people talking about the issue, but the correct way to address the problem seems to be more complicated than simply changing it’s classification.