Minister alarmed by ketamine use after man's death

A Home Office minister has told a coroner the government is "concerned" that harm caused by ketamine abuse "may be significantly underestimated" by users.

Dame Diana Johnson wrote to Dorset's assistant coroner Richard T Middleton after he urged urgent action over ketamine use following an inquest into a Weymouth man's death.

Mr Middleton said Joshua Leatham-Prosser, 25, "did not perceive" the Class B drug "to be any more harmful than cannabis".

But he said the impact of ketamine on Mr Leatham-Prosser's bladder was "akin to acid attacks on the skin" and that ketamine cystitis was an "emerging epidemic" amongst young people.

Mr Leatham-Prosser was found dead at his home on 5 June 2024, having used ketamine since 2019.

He was in a "vicious cycle" where the only way to relieve symptoms was to take more, Mr Middleton said.

Government figures showed the drug's usage amongst 16 to 24-year-olds in England had tripled since 2016.

In a letter to Mr Middleton, Dame Diana said it was "particularly worrying that the misuse of ketamine amongst young people has grown in recent times".

She said the government was concerned the drug's "degree of addictiveness and the possibility of irreversible bladder damage" may be underestimated by ketamine users.

She commissioned an updated harms assessment into ketamine earlier this year.

She wrote to the chair of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD), Prof Owen Bowden-Jones, in January.

The government must consider the ACMD's advice before making changes to the classification of a controlled drug.

Ketamine could become a Class A drug, which would lead to longer prison sentences for suppliers and users.

If you've been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.

You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X, or Instagram.