‘Kids think ketamine isn’t addictive, they couldn’t be more wrong’

A mother has called for ketamine to be upgraded to a Class A drug following the death of her daughter.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Sarah Green shared the story of her daughter’s battle with addiction and her ultimate suicide. She warned against the misconception ketamine is ‘low-risk’ and highlighted how easy it is for children to buy it through social media platforms.

Ketamine damages the bladder and can create a cycle of dependency, where users take it to manage the pain caused by the drug’s harmful effects.

Bladder damage

Sarah recalled her anger after finding out her daughter Honor, then 15, had taken ketamine. Honor brushed off her concern, saying: “It’s not that bad, Mum. Everyone does it. It’s not even a class A drug.”

Searching online, Sarah found information claiming ketamine was non-addictive and used to treat mental health conditions. She explained: “I was furious she had experimented with drugs, but was also oddly relieved by what I read”, adding: “I couldn’t have been more wrong.”

Unbeknown to her, Honor had started taking the drug most weekends, finding it easy to buy on social media. By the age of 18, her “ambitious, hardworking” daughter got her first job, but started calling in sick because of the unbearable pain from bladder damage, something her mum described as “one of the most devastating consequences of long-term ketamine abuse”.

Addiction

In her early twenties, shortly after moving out, Honor was referred to hospital and told she was losing her bladder. Sarah recalled: “We brought her straight home. I wrapped my arms around her, rocked her like she was a baby again, and for the first time, she said: ‘Mum, I need help.’”

“Back home, our lives revolved around managing the damage the drug had done to her body. Honor slept upright on the sofa because lying flat was too painful. I slept downstairs with her. Every 20 minutes, she was in the bathroom.”

It took Honor two months to be free of ketamine, but only a single Snapchat notification promoting “special Friday deals” for her to relapse. Sarah said: “All Honor had to do was tap the screen, and ketamine was delivered to her door within hours. It was there on a plate.”

Two months later, Honor took her own life.

Awareness

Sarah has since founded the H23 Foundation, to raise awareness about the dangerous drug and is “determined to make sure people understand the reality of ketamine”.

“For years, I believed what I had read online, which claimed that ketamine was not addictive. I had no idea how quickly it could take hold, how easily young people could access it through social media, and the devastating damage it could do to both body and mind.”

The bereaved mum is also calling on the Government to reclassify ketamine “so that those supplying it to children and young people face tougher penalties, and this drug is no longer treated as a lesser threat”.