Over the last two decades, Ketamine has surged in popularity. It’s gone from largely being relegated to history after the discovery and popularisation of cheaper psychoactive drugs such as LSD, PCP, and mescaline, to a substance that constantly seems to be making headlines as both a party drug and a miracle cure for treatment-resistant depression.
The statistics provided here aim to put ketamine usage, risks, and treatment into perspective. We’ve included data on ketamine prevalence, trends, and its health impacts, covering both recreational and medical ketamine use. Please scroll to the bottom of the page for a complete list of references.
The UK saw an all-time high ketamine misuse* rate of 0.8% during the pandemic. This equates to roughly 1 in every 125 people.
Young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the heaviest ketamine users, with a use rate of 3.2% in 2023. This is 4 times higher than the national average.
Among 16 to 24-year-olds, ketamine use increased from a prevalence of 1.7% in 2010 to 3.2% in 2020. This represents a jump of just under 90% in 10 years.
The number 16 to 24-year-olds reporting problems with ketamine increased from 512 to 719 between 2021 and 2022. This is a 40% increase.
Between 2015 and 2023, the number of young people in treatment for ketamine abuse increased from less than 1% to roughly 6%.
Adult ketamine treatment numbers increased from 1,551 in 2021 to 2,211 in 2022, a 42.5% increase. By 2022, this number was five times higher than between 2014 and 2015.
Although the total amount of ketamine seized in the year ending March 2023 was down 22% compared to the year before, it was the second-largest total amount of ketamine seizures on record. A total of 1.43 tonnes of ketamine was seized across England and Wales between April 2022 and March 2023.
Contact Gladstones Clinic to find out how our time-tested treatment programmes can help you overcome ketamine dependency.
A secondary analysis of the Global Drug Study (2018) revealed that 5.93% of respondents reported lifetime ketamine use. Of this group, 57.7% had used ketamine within the previous year.
8.55% of respondents who had used ketamine within the previous year met the criteria for ketamine dependence.
The seventieth Hong Kong Central Registry of Drug Report states that sniffing is the most common method of taking ketamine, with 85% of abusers most frequently sniffing.
The same report indicated that ketamine users generally use the drug roughly 10 times per month.
This question is difficult to answer confidently. At best, you can use the available ketamine use rates and compare them to census data to find a rough number. At a use rate of 0.8% in England and Wales, there are approximately 270,000 ketamine users aged 15 to 65.
Despite the dangers of mixing ketamine with other drugs, it remains a popular practice, making it difficult to find true ketamine-only substance use disorder statistics.
A large global sample study suggests that young, caucasian, heterosexual males are the most likely demographic to experiment with ketamine in their lifetime, while younger age, gay sexual orientation, being a student, and having used other drugs in the last year are also associated with increased ketamine use.
Beyond demographics, individuals in the dance music party or rave scenes are also at increased risk of ketamine abuse.
Ketamine is increasingly being researched in the medical field as a treatment specifically for Treatment-Resistant Depression (TRD). This field of research is still fairly new, and published statistics are limited.
Oxford Health researchers found that 29% of study subjects reported at least 3 weeks of benefits after being treated for TRD with ketamine, with 15% seeing benefits lasting up to two months.
A systematic review of all available published data on the rapid antidepressant effects of ketamine showed a response rate of 25% to 85% within the first 24 hours of ketamine infusions, and 14% to 70% at 72 hours post-infusion.
Taking ketamine with other recreational drugs significantly increases the risk of a fatal overdose. In the US, ketamine was involved in 79% of overdose cases and 89% of deaths related to multiple drug use.
Between 2012 and 2017, Paris hospitals found that 21% of known drug-dependent or severely intoxicated patients had recently taken ketamine.
Ketamine withdrawal symptoms may start 24 to 72 hours after last use; however, since many ketamine users also abuse other substances, it can be difficult to attribute exact withdrawal symptoms to each substance.
There are no publicly available statistics on ketamine withdrawal symptoms. Generally, people do not consider ketamine withdrawal as dangerous as they do alcohol or opioid withdrawal, and there are very few instances where hospitalisation or emergency medical intervention is necessary.
Ketamine withdrawal symptoms may include:
Reach out to Gladstones Clinic for expert advice and options for dealing with ketamine abuse.
While the number of ketamine deaths in England and Wales remains fairly low compared to other illicit substances, according to the Office for National Statistics, it is steadily increasing. Between 2018 and 2022, it went from a low of 21 in 2019 to an all-time high of 37 in 2022.
It’s important to once again note that deaths attributed to ketamine are extremely rare. In virtually all cases where ketamine is listed on a death certificate, other substances are also involved. There are no recorded cases of patients receiving medically prescribed ketamine overdosing.
Barrios, K. P., et al. “Ketamine use in a large global sample: Characteristics, patterns of use and emergency medical treatment.” Journal of Psychopharmacology, 2024. Sage Journals, https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/02698811241273850. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.
Beerten, S. G., et al. “Ketamine misuse: an update for primary care.” British Journal of General Practice, vol. 73, no. 727, 2023, pp. 87-89. British Journal of General Practice, https://bjgp.org/content/73/727/87. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.
Hottat, A., and P. Hantson. “Toxicity patterns associated with chronic ketamine exposure.” Toxicologie Analytique et Clinique, vol. 35, no. 2, 2023, pp. 113-123. ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352007823000173?via%3Dihub. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. “Adult substance misuse treatment statistics 2022 to 2023: report.” GOV.UK, Office for Health Improvement & Disparities, 21 December 2023, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-adults-statistics-2022-to-2023/adult-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2022-to-2023-report. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Office for Health Improvement & Disparities. “Young people’s substance misuse treatment statistics 2022 to 2023: report.” GOV.UK, 25 January 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/substance-misuse-treatment-for-young-people-2022-to-2023/young-peoples-substance-misuse-treatment-statistics-2022-to-2023-report. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Office for National Statistics. Death registrations due to drug related poisoning, selected substances, England and Wales: 2018 to 2022. Downloadable Spreadsheet. Office for National Statistics, 2024, https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/deaths/adhocs/1737deathregistrationsduetodrugrelatedpoisoningselectedsubstancesenglandandwales2018to2022. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust. “First UK study of ketamine for people with severe depression.” Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, 3 April 2014, https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/news/first-uk-study-of-ketamine-for-people-with-severe-depression/. Accessed 14 November 2024.
Rosenbaum, S. B., et al. “Ketamine.” StatPearls Publishing, 2024. National Library of Medicine, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470357/. Accessed 8 Nov 2024.
Rot, M., et al. “Ketamine for Depression: Where Do We Go from Here?” Biological Psychiatry, vol. 72, no. 7, 2012, pp. 537-547. ScienceDirect, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0006322312004179. Accessed 12 Nov 2024.
UK Home Office. “Seizures of drugs in England and Wales, financial year ending 2023.” GOV.UK, 5 March 2024, https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2023/seizures-of-drugs-in-england-and-wales-financial-year-ending-2023. Accessed 14 November 2024.
