The government has moved swiftly to ban a class of deadly synthetic opioids known as orphines. Police leaders are now demanding that ketamine be made a Class A drug before what they warn could become the next public health catastrophe.

Seven named orphines now carry an immediate ban under a temporary class drug order. Their supply, production, importation and possession are all criminal offences. The ACMD advised the move, and Parliament must still approve permanent Class A status for the substances.

What Are Orphines?

Orphines are a form of synthetic opioid. Several deaths across the UK in recent months have been linked to their use. Manufacturers engineer them to mimic natural opiates, but they are often far more potent and unpredictable, making them especially dangerous.

The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC) Addictions and Substance Misuse Joint Leads, PCCs David Sidwick (Dorset) and Joy Allen (Durham), welcomed the government’s swift action.

“This emerging class of synthetic opioid has been linked to several deaths in this country in recent months,” they said in a joint statement. “It is vital the police and other law enforcement agencies have the powers they need to act against those involved in importing and supplying them across the UK.”

A Wider Picture

The orphines ban arrives at a pivotal moment. The government’s 10-year drug strategy has reached its halfway point. Police and Crime Commissioners and Deputy Mayors have pledged to deliver results alongside local and national partners.

PCCs Sidwick and Allen were direct about the scale of the challenge. “These and other lethal narcotics cause devastating harm to users, while the illegal drugs market drives vast amounts of other criminality,” they said. “Unless we tackle the drugs trade from international borders down to the streets of our towns and cities, it will not be possible to achieve the government’s Safer Streets mission.”

They stressed that success depends on all three pillars: enforcement, treatment and prevention.

Why Ketamine Class A Status Is Now Being Demanded

A growing and urgent debate is taking shape around ketamine. PCC Joy Allen serves as joint national lead for addictions and substance misuse at the APCC. She has called directly on the government to upgrade ketamine to Class A, arguing that current controls do not reflect the drug’s rising harm.

Her push for ketamine Class A status comes despite the ACMD’s most recent advice that the drug remain at Class B. Allen and others believe that position no longer reflects what frontline services are seeing.

The numbers tell a stark story. Nearly 300,000 people used ketamine in 2024, the highest figure ever recorded. Use among 16 to 24-year-olds has risen by 231 per cent since 2013. More young people now seek treatment for ketamine misuse than for cocaine. Over 50 deaths were linked to the drug in 2023 alone. Government figures show 3,609 adults began treatment for ketamine misuse in 2023 to 2024, compared to just a few hundred a decade earlier.

“Ketamine kills,” said PCC Allen. “It causes irreversible brain and physical damage and is becoming increasingly popular, particularly among young people. We must not wait until its use mirrors that of cocaine or other Class A drugs. Drug classification must reflect harm, not prevalence.”

Real Lives, Real Consequences

The human cost of ketamine misuse goes far beyond statistics. PCC Allen shared the account of one mother whose son suffered irreversible harm after prolonged use.

“He can’t even go to the toilet by himself anymore. He does not remember conversations from five minutes ago. I am now his full-time carer,” the mother said.

Allen confirmed such cases are becoming less and less rare. She has spoken to professionals across the country over the past two years. All of them describe the same picture: services overwhelmed and families in crisis. Referrals to rehabilitation services have surged to levels that were unimaginable a decade ago.

“This is a crisis waiting to happen and we can help prevent it,” she said, citing Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

Supporters of ketamine reclassification say that Class A status would do more than send a public health message. It would strengthen law enforcement’s ability to disrupt supply chains and warn young people clearly about the drug’s dangers.

The Cost of Delaying Ketamine Reclassification

Pressure from policing leaders for ketamine Class A classification is mounting. Parliament has not yet acted. The temporary class drug order for orphines shows that fast legislative action is achievable when political will exists. Those pushing for ketamine reclassification see no justification for further delay.

Frontline addiction workers are equally clear. Emerging substances are not a future threat. They are a present one. Enforcement matters, but communities also need sustained investment in treatment and prevention.

The case for ketamine Class A grows stronger by the month. The voices urging action are growing louder, and the evidence behind them is becoming harder to ignore.

Source: dbrecoveryresources