Big rise in young people in ketamine addiction rehab

Cost of living crisis sees users turn to more affordable drug

- HOLLY EVANS

“I felt like I was walking on the moon,” is how Casey Innalls recalls her initial impression of the Class B drug ketamine, which she first tried at the age of 16. What initially began as a weekend habit with friends or at the pub soon became an allconsuming addiction, which has left her in excruciating pain with severe damage to her bladder.

Now aged 27, Casey is among the rising number of young people being admitted to rehab due to ketamine abuse, with specialist clinics and the NHS reporting a significant increase in recent years. According to government data on drug misuse in 2005, only two per cent of 16- to 24-year-olds had tried it, yet by 2020 this figure had tripled, with more than one in 20 young people admitting they had consumed it.

Specialists believe one of the key reasons ketamine is on the rise is due to the cost of living crisis, which has seen users turn to more affordable drugs than cocaine and alcohol.

Lee Fernandes, lead therapist at UK Addiction Treatment Centres, said: “We’ve seen around a 35 per cent rise in under30s being addicted to ketamine and seeking rehab treatment for it. And in particular in the last 12 months, we’ve seen an influx of young women needing urgent treatment as the side effects of the addiction become extremely damaging."

One in three of the young people they treat for ketamine addiction is also suffering with what’s known as k-bladder: a condition that affects and shrinks the lining of the bladder due to chronic usage. Casey had initially suspected she had pancreatitis when she found herself screaming and crying in agony with stabbing pains in her lower stomach.