UK ketamine deaths rise as coroners and medics warn of unpredictable harms

Coroners and clinicians are warning that ketamine poses growing risks to young people in the UK as deaths linked to the dissociative anaesthetic rise and calls grow to reclassify the drug from Class B to Class A.

The issue has been highlighted by a spate of recent inquests, including a coroner who concluded that 28‑year‑old Gemma Weeks died from a combination of "drug toxicity," urinary bladder necrosis and chronic kidney damage after long‑term ketamine use. Relatives and coroners in other cases have urged tougher penalties for supply in response to what they describe as an alarming increase in fatalities.

A personal account published in a national newspaper this month described how a woman in her mid‑50s who tried a small dose of ketamine at a family party experienced overwhelming panic, an inability to move and a clear, distressing awareness of her limbs not responding. The woman, who wrote under a changed name, said the episode lasted only minutes but left her shaken and convinced ketamine is not a harmless "party drug." She said a doctor friend in emergency medicine told her severe effects can occur even on first use and that some patients present with chronic urinary and kidney damage.

Public health figures and records compiled by independent monitoring programmes have shown a rise in ketamine use and harms. The Home Office estimated 269,000 people used ketamine in the year ending March 2024. Data reported to the National Programme on Substance Abuse Deaths indicate a substantial increase in fatalities involving ketamine since 2015 and suggest roughly one ketamine‑related death in the UK per week in recent reporting. Those records also show a higher share of female victims compared with pre‑pandemic years and point to a disproportionate student representation among ketamine casualties.

Medical literature and clinicians describe several distinct harms linked to recreational ketamine. Short‑term effects include dissociation, impaired motor control, panic and, at higher doses, loss of responsiveness or profound hallucinations commonly referred to as a "k‑hole." Repeated use is associated with urinary tract damage: a condition often called "ketamine bladder" can cause severe pain, increased urinary frequency and, in some cases, bladder necrosis and kidney infection (pyelonephritis). Those complications can lead users to escalate consumption for pain relief, worsening a cycle of harm.

In Weeks's inquest, the coroner cited bladder necrosis and chronic kidney damage alongside drug toxicity. Reporting on the case said Weeks began using ketamine at 18 and had escalated to consuming the equivalent of about £500 worth of the drug per week before her death. Other recent deaths highlighted in media coverage include an 18‑year‑old student who died after her first use and a 20‑year‑old who died within months of starting ketamine. In several cases, coroners or relatives have urged reclassification to Class A, which would carry more severe penalties for supply.

Policymakers face questions over how to respond to rising harms while health services manage acute presentations and chronic complications. Emergency departments report seeing patients with acute unresponsiveness, severe psychological distress and injuries sustained while intoxicated. Urology and renal services are treating increasing numbers of young people with severe bladder dysfunction and kidney injury attributed to ketamine use.

Experts who study drug harms say the risks can be multifaceted. Dependence can develop because users need progressively larger doses to achieve the same effect, increasing the chances of acute toxicity or dangerous behaviours. The drug's low cost and perception as a "soft" alternative to drugs such as ecstasy or cocaine have been cited as factors in its popularity among 16‑ to 24‑year‑olds. Media coverage of individual deaths and coroners' recommendations have renewed debate about classification, prevention and harm‑reduction strategies.

Public health advocates and clinicians emphasise a combination of measures: improved education about the specific medical risks of ketamine, better access to treatment for dependence, and investment in hospital services to manage the drug's physical complications. Legal change is being urged by some bereaved families and coroners but carries questions about enforcement, supply chains and whether criminal sanctions alone would reduce harms.

The accounts and coroner findings underline a central feature of ketamine‑related harm: effects can be sudden and severe, and chronic use can produce irreversible physical damage. Health services continue to monitor trends and record outcomes as national agencies and clinicians consider preventive and treatment responses to a pattern that, according to surveillance data, has worsened over the past decade.