Make ketamine a Class A drug, PCC says
SuppliedA police and crime commissioner (PCC) has called for ketamine to be reclassified as a Class A drug, warning there is a "crisis waiting to happen".
In January, the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) advised the government the drug should remain as Class B, saying reclassifying in isolation would be unlikely to "reduce prevalence or misuse".
County Durham and Darlington PCC Joy Allen criticised the position as "out of step with reality".
She said there was a "mounting pressure on services" responding to ketamine addiction and said changing its status would strengthen the ability of law enforcement to disrupt illegal supply chains.
Ketamine is widely used in the NHS as an anaesthetic, sedative and pain reliever, and became known as a "party drug" because of its hallucinogenic effects.
It is one of the fastest growing substances used among young adults, with drug workers seeing more and more people with excruciating abdominal pain known as "K cramps".
Reclassifying the drug to Class A means anyone supplying it could be handed a life sentence.
'Act now'
As the joint national lead for Addictions and Substance Misuse for the Association of PCCs, Allen said she spoke to professionals across the country and found a surge in referrals to rehabilitation services had "become the norm".
Allen said: "Ketamine kills. It causes irreversible brain and physical damage.
"The time to act is now. We must not wait until its use mirrors that of cocaine or other class A drugs."
In addition, Allen called for the drug to be included as a testable substance under arrest powers.
The ACMD advised the classification stayed the same but recommended police forces and health care professionals received better support to identify, prevent and respond to ketamine‑related harms.
In reaching its decision, the ACMD noted the harms of ketamine, such as toxicity and deaths, aligned with its Class B status.
It added many issues ketamine users experienced were likely to be "significantly influenced by using other drugs at the same time".