Megan Harmes, 24, from Flint in north Wales, first tried ketamine at 14. She told BBC News that bladder problems caused by the drug have left her needing incontinence pads, and that four weeks in rehab is already helping her feel physically better, although it remains unclear whether the damage can be reversed.
Megan, a former aeronautical engineering apprentice, said her use escalated during lockdown, when she was working from home on full pay and the price of ketamine had plummeted. At its worst she was on the drug "all day, every day." She said it helped suppress symptoms she associates with ADHD and borderline personality disorder, but it cost her an apprenticeship and later years of night-shift work entrenched the habit. "For a 22-year-old wearing pads or nappies, it takes away all dignity," she said. "Back then I really didn't care whether I lived or died. Now I don't want to die."
Jo Moore, who runs the Birchwood rehabilitation facility for the charity Kaleidoscope, said five years ago the centre had a single referral for inpatient ketamine detox. "Since January this year we've seen 112 people come through the door," she said, with half of current clients being supported for ketamine use. Most are aged 18 to 24. "It's very, very cheap and very accessible. That's what allows people to use it more frequently and at large amounts at the same time."
Ketamine, an anaesthetic used in healthcare and veterinary settings, was reclassified as a Class B drug in the UK in 2014. Illicit use among 16 to 59 year olds in the UK was estimated at about 264,000 people in 2024-25, and the number seeking treatment for ketamine use disorders increased twelvefold over a decade.
Mark, who asked to remain anonymous, started using drugs at 18 and by 21 was using "copious amounts" of cocaine and ketamine. At 25, he said, "I probably had the body of an 80-year-old." He regularly passed clots and experienced pain during urination, and the collapse of his nose from snorting drugs destroyed his self-confidence and drew looks of disgust from his own family. He was too ashamed to tell his GP about the ketamine.
Dr Darren Quelch, of the University of South Wales, is researching this group alongside Kaleidoscope. He found some users started as young as 13, and that chronic use causes harm more rapidly than alcohol or Class A drugs, ranging from memory problems and chronic pain to bladder damage and kidney failure. He said young people often struggled in A&E and GP surgeries, where symptoms were not always linked to ketamine use. "There's very little provision for young people experiencing drug and alcohol-related harms, and that has almost left us starting right from the beginning," he said.
Moore said education in schools, colleges and universities appeared to be reducing new presentations of ketamine use, though those who have used for years will continue to need support. Quelch said the scale of the problem and the recoverability of users' bodies remained unclear, and that relapse appeared to be a big problem, with harm returning faster after a period of abstinence.