Ketamine: when the party’s over
Paul McNamara, Megan Glover
British Journal of General Practice 2026 DOI: 10.3399/bjgp26x743985 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Esketamine Ketamine |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Argues that ketamine has shifted from a niche party drug to a public health crisis, with deaths linked to ketamine rising six-fold over the past decade. The author contends that cheap, easily available ketamine is often used as a "quick fix" for mental distress, and that dependence, organ damage, and worsening depression are increasingly seen in clinical practice. |
Abstract
Ketamine: when the party's over 'The first lines of ketamine hit like escape itself -the body loosening, the mind lifting clear, pain falling away as colours bled and folded into each other.For a moment I felt untouchable, almost holy, as if the broken pieces of me had been stitched back together by the drug.Then came the drop.The K-hole opened and pulled me under, nerves splintering, the world shattering in a thousand directions at once.Soon there was nothing transcendent left -just dribbles that turned to fire, blood in the pan, and the slow, bitter truth that the party was over.' a Public health crisisKetamine, once a niche party drug, is at the centre of a public health crisis.Deaths linked to ketamine have increased six-fold over the past decade.Cheap, easily available, and often used as a 'quick fix' for mental distress, its popularity is soaring -and so are the consequences.Dependence, organ damage, and worsening depression are no longer fringe problems.We are seeing them in consulting rooms across the country.