Retailers slammed over T-Shirts ‘glorifying’ ketamine use

A number of online retailers have been criticised for normalising ketamine use by selling graphic T-shirts ‘celebrating’ the dangerous drug.

Companies such as Amazon, Temu and Shein stock a range of products sporting slogans, puns and cartoons about the Class B drug, which is linked to one death every week in the UK.

Recent data from the Home Office shows a 151 per cent increase in recorded offences for ketamine possession from 2020-21 to 2025-26.

Glorifying drug use

Jennifer Kitchen, who lost her 23-year-old son Louis to ketamine, said the T-shirts were “glorifying” the drug, adding: “This is used in dentists and hospitals, and they’re making it look fun. Small children like that kind of look. This stuff can kill you, it normalises it.”

Vicky Unwin’s daughter Louise died aged 21 after using the drug. She said: “It’s so insensitive. Why would anyone think wearing a T-shirt like this is a good idea?”

“This is a drug rampaging through society, destroying lives, families and communities. Anything that normalises its use is simply awful.”

Another bereaved mother explained her frustration with trying to get the listings taken down: “You report it, they say sorry, and three weeks later it’s back up under a different seller name. Nobody is taking real responsibility.”

Dire effects

Zaheen Ahmed, Head of Therapy at UKAT, an organisation running recovery centres for ketamine users, said that young men and women were arriving for treatment in a “dire” condition, some were “already incontinent or have severe bladder problems, including excruciating cramps and needing the toilet every five minutes”.

He explained that the majority of patients “said the same thing to us: they never believed ketamine could cause this level of damage to their body. It’s so sad to see but we’re treating more people so far this year than we ever have done in a full year.”

Specialist clinics have been opened in Aberdeen and Liverpool to tackle the growing number of cases. Justine Royle, a consultant urologist involved in the new Aberdeen clinic, advised: “The best thing you can do to help yourself if you have been using ketamine is stop using.”