A man who got to the point where he could “barely move” due to his ketamine addiction is helping others to get clean from the drug.
Adam Kennedy, 26, from Scunthorpe, says he “didn’t have a life” as he took ketamine regularly for five years and suffered from very painful bladder issues, which eventually left him bedbound.
But he is now an addiction recovery worker at ReNew in Hull, supporting others trying to break their ketamine habits.
His appointment comes as the drug and alcohol addiction service premieres its new documentary, K-HOLE, which aims to raise awareness of how serious the effects of using the drug can be.
Ketamine was once seen as being a niche party drug, but it is now one of the fastest‑growing substances being used by young adults.
The number of 16 to 24‑year‑olds using ketamine has increased from 52,000 in 2012-13 to 222,000 in 2022-23, according to the Crime Survey for England and Wales.
Adam started taking the drug at raves and festivals when he was 19, and his habit grew from something he did socially to something he did daily.
He says his addiction left him without a job, friends or a relationship, and “family life at home was really, really bad”.
Describing how bad his addiction became, Adam says: “I was just laid up in bed the whole time and I could barely move. [The only] time I moved was to go pick up more or to go to the toilet.”
Adam says he started suffering from ketamine-related bladder issues a year into his addiction – something he is now seeing in the people he is supporting.