Coroners and clinicians warn as ketamine-related deaths climb; mother recounts frightening first use at family party

Coroners, clinicians and bereaved families have intensified warnings about the harms of ketamine after recent inquests found the drug contributed to severe urinary and kidney damage in several young people, and official figures show a sharp rise in use and fatalities.

A coroner concluded that 28-year-old Gemma Weeks died in January from a combination of drug toxicity, urinary bladder necrosis and chronic kidney damage after long-term ketamine use, court records show. Similar recent deaths, including an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old, have prompted calls from coroner services and relatives for the drug to be reclassified from Class B to Class A, which would increase penalties for supply.

The warnings come as official and compiled data point to rising ketamine availability and harms. The Home Office estimates 269,000 people used ketamine in the year ending March 2024, and reporting this year has suggested a substantial increase in ketamine-related deaths since 2015. Data cited in press reports indicate one ketamine-related death each week in the UK and a noted rise in female fatalities compared with the period before the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a first-person account published in a national newspaper, a 55-year-old woman said she tried a small dose of ketamine at a party hosted by her daughter in May 2024 to demonstrate its effects to her children. She described an immediate sense of panic, heavy immobility and vivid awareness of her body failing to respond, an experience she said left her alarmed about how easily the drug can affect users. The writer, whose name was changed in the account, said emergency medicine colleagues had warned her that serious complications can arise even after initial use.

Health professionals and coroners have highlighted a recognized pattern of urinary tract damage associated with ketamine use. Clinicians have described a condition colloquially known as "ket bladder," in which repeated exposure can inflame and damage the bladder lining, producing severe pain and frequent urination. In some reported cases, that damage has progressed to bladder necrosis and kidney infection, conditions cited in the coroner’s findings in Weeks’ death.

Coroners in other recent cases have similarly noted the role of ketamine in fatal outcomes. In 2023 and 2024, inquests into the deaths of several young people reported ketamine as a contributing factor, prompting family members and some coroner offices to urge a review of the drug's legal classification. Advocates for reclassification argue that moving ketamine to Class A would deter supply and reduce accessibility among young people; critics of reclassification have cautioned that criminal penalties alone may not address underlying patterns of use or drive effective harm reduction.

Researchers and monitoring schemes have also drawn attention to the demographics of ketamine use. Young adults aged 16 to 24 account for a disproportionate share of users, according to recent analyses. Data compiled by the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths and quoted in reporting show that nearly one in 10 ketamine-related fatalities involved students, compared with a lower proportion of student deaths linked to other drugs collected in the same systems.

Public-health experts cite a combination of factors for ketamine’s popularity among younger users: its relative affordability on the street, social perceptions of a milder high compared with drugs such as MDMA or cocaine, and its availability in nightlife settings. Street prices reported in coverage and by users have been cited at roughly £20 per gram, though prices can vary by region and market conditions.

Clinicians warn that tolerance can develop with repeated ketamine use, prompting some users to increase doses to chase the same effects, and that small increases can unpredictably produce severe intoxication, unresponsiveness or disorienting states. Emergency department clinicians have described cases in which intoxicated individuals injured themselves or were at risk of accidental death after becoming disoriented.

Government agencies track drug harms and periodically review drug classifications. A change in legal status would involve Home Office processes and potentially new enforcement priorities; the Home Office has previously said illegal ketamine use has reached record levels. Public-health officials and drug-policy experts say responses to rising harms typically involve a mix of law enforcement, health education, treatment access and harm-reduction measures.

Bereaved families and coroner reports have pressed for policy change while clinicians call for greater public awareness of ketamine’s risks. As authorities and health services consider responses, coroners’ findings and media accounts of personal experience have added new urgency to debates over prevention, treatment and the legal framework surrounding ketamine use in the United Kingdom.