Experts who advise the government on drug-related issues in the UK have said ketamine should not be reclassified as a Class A drug.
Currently a Class B substance, ketamine is used in clinical settings as an anaesthetic for people and animals – but it is also taken recreationally, usually as a crushed powder.
Last January, the government announced it would seek expert advice on reclassifying ketamine, after illegal use of the drug reached record levels in the year ending March 2023.
The Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) published its findings on Wednesday, stating its recommendation to keep the drug a Class B was “by no means a unanimous decision”.
The ACMD is an advisory non-departmental public body, sponsored by the Home Office.
It is made up of experts, including academics, as well as members of law enforcement and the medical profession.
In the report, it found “that possible advantages of reclassifying ketamine were outweighed by the disadvantages”.
According to the ACMD, those disadvantages include concerns that reclassification could potentially increase the stigma around ketamine, meaning people would be less likely to seek addiction support.
It also concluded that “increased enforcement activity associated with Class A status could result in higher prices, increased risk of adulteration of supplies and more income-generating crime”.
Over the course of the last 12 months, the ACMD heard from a number of contributors.
It said individuals with lived experience of ketamine use and the harms of the drug said they did not believe upgrading the drug would reduce its use, while social care professionals also largely voiced their opinion in favour of reclassification.
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The drug addiction leaving users in chronic pain
In a special report last year, Sky News spoke to people whose lives were impacted by the drug and the people trying to support them.
Former ketamine users told us how the drug had left them in chronic, life-changing pain.
One of those was Jamie, a former user who had eventually needed his bladder removed.
Jamie, whose name we changed for the report, said: “It needs to be put into a Class A definitely.
“While I was in rehab, I saw a lot of people who used Class A for years and years, addicts who had greater usage than I was and they were worse than I was.”
But experts we spoke to at the time offered a nuanced view, arguing that education around the drug was vital.
Dr Caroline Copeland is a senior lecturer in pharmacology and toxicology at King’s College London and also the director of the National Programme on Substance Use Mortality.
At the time, she said: “I think that instead of necessarily focusing on the punitive measures, which is what comes with the reclassification, we need to be thinking more about how we can actually spend that time and money towards helping the people who are using ketamine and education programmes to stop people starting to use ketamine in the first place.”
Although it did not conclude in favour of reclassifying the drug, the ACMD pushed for a public health “whole systems” approach to ketamine to reduce the harms caused by the drug, arguing that the “availability of co-ordinated services for people, and in particular for children and young adults with ketamine use disorders, remains inadequate”.
It also found that police forces and health care professionals must receive greater support to better identify, prevent and respond to ketamine‑related harms.
Although it stopped short of suggesting reclassification, the ACMD made a number of recommendations around ketamine.
These included the UK government identifying which countries the largest amounts of illegal ketamine come from, and having discussions with their governments on how the supply can be reduced.
It also made recommendations around testing, including expanding roadside testing for the drug as well as including ketamine in drug testing when people are arrested to help understand the link between the drug and criminality as well as helping to signpost people to support.
The ACMD also suggested that ketamine be included in data collected by health services, including ambulance services, emergency departments and urology clinics.
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Reacting to the news on Wednesday, two people working on the frontline supporting ketamine users were unsurprised by the ACMD’s recommendations, both emphasising a need for better systems to support people who are addicted to the drug, while suggesting the classification does not make a tangible difference to the lives of those they support.
Two parents whose children died due to ketamine use expressed their disappointment.
The Home Office will now consider the report before responding.
A spokesperson for the department said: “Ketamine is an extremely dangerous substance and the recent rise in its use is deeply concerning.
“We are grateful to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs for publishing their assessment. We will now consider the report carefully and respond as a matter of priority.”
