Ketamine deaths surge by 650% with one person dying a week – as experts warn of ‘next drug pandemic’

KETAMINE deaths have soared by 650 per cent since 2015 – claiming a life almost every week across the UK.

Experts warn the drug is claiming lives nationwide and fear it could be the next “pandemic” to hit UK streets.

Figures obtained through a Freedom of Information request, seen exclusively by ITV News, lay bare the scale of the crisis.

Dubbed Special K, K and Kit Kat, the general anaesthetic, which is used on humans and animals, became popular on the party scene in the Nineties.

A standard dose of the drug can make a person feel relaxed, dream-like, happy and light.

But high doses shoot users into a “K-hole”; – a state of disassociation that leaves them unable to move or talk properly. It can also be fatal.

Shocking data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and The UKAT Group reveal ketamine deaths among women have tripled since before the Covid pandemic, while fatalities among under-30s have skyrocketed by 300 per cent.

Last month, it emerged that drag star The Vivienne, who won RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, died after taking ketamine.

They had previously been treated for addiction pre-fame.

The Vivienne, real name James Lee Williams, 32, suffered a cardiac arrest and was found dead at home near Chester on January 5.

The UKAT Group’s analysis, also seen by ITV News, shows just seven people in England and Wales lost their lives to ketamine in 2015.

By 2023, that number had rocketed to 53.

Every year except 2019 has seen a steady rise in deaths.

The worst year for teenage fatalities was 2021, when four males aged 15-19 died with ketamine listed on their death certificates.

The South East had the highest number of ketamine-related deaths in 2023, with seven recorded.

The “club drug”; is currently the centre of a spiralling addiction crisis in youngsters across the UK.

According to a wastewater sampling report published by the Home Office last week, ketamine use has risen by 85 per cent over the past year.

In January, the Government announced plans to seek expert advice on reclassifying ketamine as a Class A drug, alongside cocaine and ecstasy, after illegal use hit record levels in the year ending March 2023.

Currently, ketamine is a Class B drug, with suppliers facing up to 14 years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both.

Use of the drug has surged. An estimated 299,000 people aged 16-59 reported taking ketamine in the year ending March 2023 – the highest on record.

The new figures come after Friends actor Matthew Perry was found dead in his hot tub in October 2023, with a coroner finding ketamine was his primary cause of death.

In controlled medical settings, ketamine has gained a reputation as a groundbreaking treatment for depression and chronic pain.

But it can cause irreversible bladder and kidney damage and is a key drug in spiking incidents.

It is also frequently found in ‘pink cocaine,’ a dangerous cocktail of synthetic drugs consumed by users unaware of its contents.

Zaheen Ahmed, Director of Addiction Therapy at The UKAT Group, urged the Government to take action: “Ketamine deaths are rising and they shouldn't be, it's as simple as that,” he said.

“This is a drug that has flown under the radar for far too long. 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.”

A Home Office spokesperson told ITV News: “We are seeking advice from the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs on reclassifying ketamine to become a Class A substance.

“Through our Plan for Change and mission to make the nation’s streets safer, we will work with public services including health and policing, to drive down drug use and stop those who profit from its supply.”