Britain is sleepwalking into a silent epidemic of ketamine addiction, with health services “ill-equipped” to cope and users dangerously unaware of the risks, experts have warned.
The alarm follows a new BMJ report which reveals a dramatic rise in ketamine-related hospital visits and long-term health complications among teenagers and young adults.
While the drug’s appeal lies in its euphoric, dissociative high, specialists warn ketamine is one of the most physically destructive drugs on the streets today.
Zaheen Ahmed, a leading addiction specialist from the drug rehabilitation group UKAT, said:
“Britain is sleepwalking into a ketamine health crisis. The lack of awareness around how dangerous this drug is deeply concerning.
We’re treating young adults who, before their 21st birthday, are suffering from incontinence.
Because this is such a new phenomenon, there are still no formal medical guidelines in place to support a ketamine detox.
As a society, we need to grab hold of this problem with both hands – before it gets worse.”
Dr Catherine Carney, another addiction expert, added:
“Many young people – and even clinicians – are unaware of the impact of ketamine.
Patients are arriving at A&E with incontinence, blood in their urine, liver issues and abdominal cramps. Some even require full bladder removal due to the damage caused.
But A&E isn’t equipped to deal with this.”
She added: “Ketamine is still seen as cheap, fun, and relatively safe – but we’re only now waking up to the fact it’s highly addictive and seriously harmful.
Twenty years ago, I never saw ketamine addiction. Now it’s a growing crisis – and NHS services can’t keep up due to lack of funding and awareness.
Most users are in their late teens or early twenties. Many are so badly affected they can’t work, causing serious financial and mental health problems.”
Professor David Gillatt, bladder surgeon and former Medical Director of the Bristol Urological Institute, said: “The UK has a big ketamine problem tied to the dance scene.
Young people think it’s a cheap and cheerful drug without side effects, but I’ve removed bladders from users as young as nineteen.
The drug can cause catastrophic damage and shrinkage to the bladder – it won’t kill you, but it can destroy your quality of life.”
Earlier this month, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) reported ketamine misuse is rocketing among young people, triggering a surge in A&E admissions, addiction referrals and long-term organ damage.
The BMJ report called for urgent action on the “silent epidemic” driven by a once club-only drug that is now wrecking bladders, brains, and futures.
Once confined to party scenes, ketamine is now being used regularly at home – often in dangerously high doses. NHS data reveals that ketamine-related treatment cases have soared by 700 percent, from 426 in 2014–15 to 3,609 in 2023–24.
The number of 16–24-year-olds admitting to using the drug has more than doubled in the past decade – from around 2 percent in 2010 to nearly 4 percent today.
The BMJ analysis follows a government study showing a dramatic surge in party drug use. Ketamine consumption is up 85 percent, MDMA by 52 percent, and cocaine by 7 percent in just one year, according to the Home Office Wastewater Analysis Programme.
This sewage study, which monitors drug residues across 18 percent of England’s population, found significantly higher levels of these substances in early 2024 compared to the same period last year.
Experts believe rising alcohol prices are pushing young people toward cheaper, more potent alternatives.
“The affordability and accessibility of these substances are major concerns,” said UKAT’s Zaheen Ahmed.
“We’ve seen a 35% increase in adults entering treatment for ketamine problems between 2023 and 2024.
This rise is alarming – especially among young people. These drugs come with serious health consequences: bladder destruction from ketamine, and overheating or heart complications from MDMA.”
The hidden toll of ketamine:
27% of regular users suffer bladder damage, leading to incontinence, blood in urine, and urinary retention.
“K cramps” – severe abdominal pain – are increasingly common problem for users which may indicate liver injury.
Long-term use is associated with memory loss and cognitive decline.
35% of long-term users experience severe depression.
Some users suffer irreversible bladder damage, requiring surgical reconstruction.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “We are driving down the use of drugs like ketamine, ensuring more people receive timely treatment and support, and making our streets and communities safer.
“This government is committed to tackling drug and alcohol abuse, and we remain on high alert to emerging drug threats.”
The Government also said during 2025/26 it is providing £310 million in “additional targeted grants’ to ‘improve drug and alcohol treatment services and wider recovery support including housing and employment support.”
Drug misuse deaths have doubled since 2012 and over 3,300 people died in England alone in 2023 – the highest rate since records began in 1993.
The government says it is is “committed to reducing drug and alcohol related deaths” with “an action plan to achieve this.”
It added that its plan is “currently being reviewed to ensure that it is grounded in the latest understanding of the drivers of drug and alcohol related deaths and responds to them effectively.”