Ketamine misuse in the UK is getting worse, and the numbers back that up. An estimated 264,000 people aged 16 to 59 used the drug in the past year, up from 160,000 a decade ago. Once associated mainly with operating theatres and veterinary clinics, ketamine has quietly become one of Britain’s fastest-growing drug concerns, particularly among young people.

Over 5,300 adults entered drug treatment with a ketamine problem in 2024/25. That is more than 12 times the figure recorded in 2014/15. Among 16 to 24-year-olds, roughly 2% reported using ketamine in the last year.

What Is Ketamine and Why Do People Misuse It?

Ketamine is a short-acting anaesthetic. Hospitals use it for surgery and pain management. Vets use it for animals. Recreationally, people seek out its euphoric and dissociative effects a floating, detached sensation that some find appealing.

But the gap between a recreational dose and a harmful one is narrow. Many people seriously underestimate the risks.

Ketamine Use and Harms: What the Evidence Shows

Ketamine misuse in the UK causes damage well beyond a bad night out. Regular users can develop severe urinary tract problems. In serious cases, surgeons remove the bladder entirely. Long-term use also links to cognitive difficulties, depression and hallucinations.

In the short term, the drug raises heart rate and blood pressure. It causes confusion, agitation and reduces awareness of surroundings, which raises the risk of accidents.

Deaths are climbing too. Registered deaths involving ketamine rose from 18 in 2014 to 60 in 2024, according to the Office for National Statistics. A 2025 University of Hertfordshire study projected the true toll could reach 197 deaths in 2024, a tenfold rise over the same period.

The Scale of Ketamine Misuse in the UK Keeps Growing

Government wastewater testing offers a sobering snapshot of the problem. The WAND programme estimated that people in England consumed 30,800 kg of ketamine between August 2024 and July 2025. Consumption rose by 229% between 2021 and 2025, the largest increase of any drug in the programme.

Liverpool, Brighton, Portsmouth, Norfolk and Bristol recorded the highest estimated consumption. Border Force seized 1.3 tonnes of ketamine in 2024/25, a 55% jump on the year before.

Children are affected too. In 2024/25, almost 1,500 young people under 17 reported ketamine problems. That figure keeps climbing.

What the Advisory Council Recommended

The government asked the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) in January 2025 to update its assessment. The council published its report in January 2026. The findings on ketamine use and harms were stark.

Experts debated whether to reclassify ketamine from class B to class A, the same level as heroin and cocaine. The council voted to keep it at class B, though the decision was not unanimous. It issued 14 further recommendations: better roadside testing, closer links between drug services and urology care, more research into long-term health consequences.

The government has not yet responded formally. A public health campaign for young people launched in October 2025 is the most visible action so far.

Why This All Matters

Ketamine misuse in the UK is following a familiar pattern. A drug builds a reputation for being manageable. Use spreads. The worst health consequences emerge years later, by which point many people already carry lasting damage.

Bladder injuries and cognitive problems often take time to surface. Many young people experimenting today will not feel the full impact for years. Treatment services are already strained. Wastewater data keeps rising. Seizures are up. The gap between the growing scale of use and the public health response remains wide.

Source: dbrecoveryresources