Robert De Freitas is a Recovery Coach and Lived Experience Advocate. With an extensive background in addiction, recovery, and psychology, he passionately believes in the capabilities and potential of some of the most outcasted members of society. The gift of recovery has afforded him a level of life that he and many others never envisaged - happiness, serenity, and productivity.
Ketamine use among the UK Generation Z population has seen a steep rise during the last 5 years. While cannabis continues to be the most used recreational drug, ketamine, which was first banned in 2006, is now seen as Gen Z’s party drug of choice. Clients I have worked with show a trend that somewhat mirrors my experiences of newer recovery acquaintances; increasing amounts of people who are recognising substance misuse issues within themselves, are attributing Ketamine as their drug of choice. This is a trend backed up by statistics such as ketamine drug possession offences rising by 70% between 2023 and 2024 (Deith and Collins, 2025), an overall rise from 2% to 6% of adolescents who have used ketamine during that time frame, and treatment centres who report that ketamine inquiries have doubled from 15% of their intake to an alarming 30% in the last year alone (Rehabs.uk, 2024).
This highlights ketamine as a stand-out issue, particularly given the relative stagnation, and in some cases decrease, of general official statistics for drug use in the UK (ONS Centre for Crime and Justice, 2024). So why is this? There are various points to raise within this issue. Why are young people increasingly choosing ketamine? What preventative measures are in place? Are they affective? What is the root of this problem?
To answer these questions, it is vital that we have a real discussion around social indicators for drug use. What sort of a society do our adolescents find themselves a part of today? With Covid-19 not far behind us, the cost of living at unprecedented heights, wages at an all-time low, an insurmountable property ladder, mental health crisis’, and the constant notion of war on the horizon, young adults are living in a society where the lust to ‘opt-out’ has never been greater. With that said, it is quite understandable that Gen Z have an innate desire to dissociate, and if ketamine can be described in one word, it is hard to conjure up a more descriptive word to use than ‘dissociative’. So, we have a population with an increasing desire to check out of the reality thrust upon them, and a substance that, leaving danger aside for the moment, achieves that goal effectively, affordably and accessibly, with vastly less ‘come down’ symptoms when compared to more conventional party drugs. But the affordability and accessibility are not the only contributing factor to its increased use.
The question is then, are we, as a society, doing enough to accurately portray the dangers of ketamine use, and hold the attention of the younger population in a way that effectively educates them to make informed decisions? The answer, unfortunately, is a resounding no. Even the best intended articles written most recently, cannot resist the urge to use shallow pop-scare phrases such as ‘horse tranquiliser’ when seeking to inform the public about the very real dangers of ketamine use: bladder damage, changes in behaviour, the development of psychological conditions. There are significant changes to the equilibrium – making you more vulnerable to physical danger.
This, coupled with an education system that still relies on pitifully outdated ‘just say no’ rhetoric, is something adolescents never have, and never will stand for. The message we need to portray to Gen Z must be rooted in empowering them, giving them knowledge that holds depth and weight, is rooted in scientific research, and makes use of lived experience. Otherwise, as a society, we are banging a drum that has been broken for 40 years, and expecting our young adults to learn the beat.
- Robert De Freitas - Recovery Case Manager and Lived Experience Advocate
Deith, J and Collins, C. (2025) Generation K: The disturbing rise of ketamine abuse in young people. BBC News. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y0g2gnjrqo (Accessed: 27 February 2025)
ONS Centre for Crime and Justice (2024) Drug misuse in England and Wales: year ending March 2024. ONS. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/drugmisuseinenglandandwales/yearendingmarch2024(Accessed: 27 February 2025)
Rehabs.uk (2024) The Rise of Ketamine use in the UK. Rehabs.uk. Available at: https://rehabsuk.com/blog/the-rise-of-ketamine-use-in-the-uk/ (Accessed: 27 February 2025)
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