The number of young people taking ketamine has tripled in recent years – a surge which experts blame partly on its affordability and widespread availability during the cost of living crisis.
Now, the mother of an 18-year-old student who died on her first night at university after taking the drug has called for the police and government to take ketamine more seriously – and introduce longer sentences for those dealing in it.
Figures exclusively obtained by Sky News show there’s been an 89% increase in investigations for ketamine possession since 2018 – but only 31 dealers were charged last year.
Policing minister Chris Philp says the government is constantly monitoring the evidence and could order a review into upgrading ketamine to Class A if a systemic problem has developed.
Jeni Larmour arrived at Newcastle University on 2 October 2020 to begin her degree in architecture and urban planning.
Deputy head girl of her school, she flew in for the start of freshers’ week with her mother Sandra from their home in the County Armagh countryside in Northern Ireland.
“Jeni was just a bright spark in life,” Sandra said. “She was always busy, she had a real infectious laugh and always had friends round.
“She was very studious, very arty. She was very involved in everything at school, the army cadets, lots of charity work, the choir.”
Sandra dropped Jeni off at her new accommodation and left her preparing to go out for drinks with the other students.
But what started as a typical freshers night out turned to tragedy after she returned early and took ketamine with one of her new flatmates, Kavir Kalliecharan.
Jeni passed out face down on his bedroom floor, and never woke up. Kalliecharan later pleaded guilty to possessing ketamine, MDMA and cannabis, and was handed a two-year conditional discharge.
‘Horrendous moment’
Sandra was waiting to take Jeni for a shopping trip the next morning when the police arrived at her hotel room.
“My heart started pounding out of my chest,” she said.
“It was actually painful. I just knew by the look on their faces what they were going to tell me and I said ‘don’t tell me, don’t say it’.
“But they came into the room and obviously had to tell me that Jeni had passed away. It was just the most horrendous moment for any parent to go through.
“They told me there was a suspicion that there was ketamine involved – ketamine and alcohol mixed – and I was just thinking, ‘What on earth is ketamine?’ I had to go and google it.
“Obviously now I’ve read up a lot more. But at the time it felt the drug culture was just so far away from here. I think that’s because we are so rural.
“There’s a certain amount of naivety in Northern Ireland, particularly among parents, certainly among young people, and that needs to change. I just don’t want another family to go through this.”
Sandra now visits schools and universities warning young people about the risks of ketamine – but she wants government action too.
“It should be on everyone’s agenda,” she said.
“The political leaders of the country need to take it seriously.
“And the only way that I believe that it can be taken seriously is if the sentences are increased… people seem to be getting away with being able to do these things, they’re making money out of it.”
How many people take ketamine?
Home Office figures from the National Crime Survey in December show ketamine is the country’s fourth most popular illegal drug – taken by 303,000 people in the year ending March 2023.
The majority of ketamine users – 225,000 – were aged between 16 to 24. That’s 3.8% of the population at that age – triple the rate five years ago.
Freedom of Information data exclusively obtained by Sky News from 36 police forces in England and Wales shows the number of people investigated for ketamine possession has increased by 89% over that same period – with 644 cases last year, compared with 341 in 2018-19.
Some 10% of those were under the age of 18, including some children younger than 12.
Ketamine is a class B drug and the majority of cases end with a community resolution, diversionary action or caution.
Last year, 118 people were charged or summoned to court for possessing ketamine, and only 31 for ketamine dealing offences.
The drug has been in the news in recent weeks after it emerged Friends star Matthew Perry died in October from the acute effects of ketamine.
The drug is an anaesthetic, often used by vets as a horse tranquiliser. Many users see it as a harmless way of enhancing a night out clubbing – or escaping reality for a time – but experts warn it can be extremely damaging.
“For long term users, it can cause memory problems, difficulty with concentration, but also in your body – it has a terrible impact on your bladder,” said Dr David McLaughlan, a consultant psychiatrist and addiction specialist at the Priory Roehampton.
“So you get something called ketamine cystitis, which means you suffer pain and pass blood when you urinate. Ultimately you might need to have your bladder replaced and have to have an external bag instead. It’s devastating.
“One of the main dangers of ketamine is when you mix it with other substances, like combining it with alcohol.
“The other issue is that you can’t trust what drug dealers are giving you – often it can be mixed with fentanyl which is a very powerful opioid, and too much of that can kill you too.”
The Priory Group of psychiatric hospitals has seen a 34% increase in inquiries for ketamine addiction treatment over the past year, and nationally over the past eight years there’s been a 350% increase.
‘Fashionable’ and ‘affordable’ drug
Dr McLaughlan says the cost of living crisis has increased its appeal to young people.
“On average, a hit of ketamine will cost you £3, which makes it really accessible, really affordable,” he said. “It’s also become fashionable.
“At the moment, we’re seeing fewer young people drinking alcohol, but instead they’re using more of these novel drugs like ketamine.”
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Former children’s minister Tim Loughton MP is a Conservative member of the Home Affairs Select Committee. He’s calling for the issue to become a much higher priority.
“This is very worrying – it’s one of those drugs increasing under the radar,” he said.
“It’s increasingly widespread, cheap to get hold of and seems particularly accessible to young people. It can have some very serious side effects with the potential for fatalities too.
“This needs to be taken much more seriously by the police, the government and the health authorities.
“Clearly the first thing that needs to happen is much better enforcement given the alarming increase in usage among young people.
“We need to see more and higher profile prosecutions of those supplying ketamine and regular users as well. So enforcement is key – but so is education.
“We haven’t properly publicised the serious harms and damage ketamine can do, there needs to be an education programme about it.”
Will ketamine be made a class A drug?
The Home Office says possession of class B drugs can be penalised by up to five years in prison, an unlimited fine, or both. For suppliers, the sentences are up to 14 years.
There are currently no plans to upgrade ketamine to class A, which would lead to tougher sentences and involve commissioning a review by the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD).
Mr Philp has suggested that could potentially change in future.
“We do always study the facts and the figures and the data very, very carefully,” he said.
“If we see evidence that ketamine fatalities are increasing, if we think there is a systemic problem developing, then that is something we keep under continual review.
“We are always vigilant towards drug use and drug types where the patterns are changing and where further thought may be required.
“So we are constantly monitoring the situation. If we think the threshold has been met for an ACMD review, we will obviously do that.”
Jeni would now be 21 if she’d lived. For Sandra, the festive period is a horrendous time of year.
“Christmas is very, very difficult,” she said. “I tend not to go out much to be honest, because you have so many people bustling through the shops, and for me Christmas has become very quiet now. The house is just completely different without her.
“Though New Year’s Day is actually probably more difficult, because it means I’m going into another year without her. I feel guilty that I’m living and she’s not.”