Special Report by Anna Youssef, ITV News Granada Reports
A woman who was severely addicted to Ketamine has said she’s seen first hand the harm the damage the so-called "party drug" causes.
Danielle Pickles, 30, spoke out to raised awareness of the risks following a rise in addiction among young people.
Danielle told how she started taking Ketamine, a Class B drug, when she was just 15-years-old after succumbing to peer pressure.
Tragically for Danielle, the ketamine soon acted as a gateway drug to harder Class A drugs like heroin.
She said: "I was lured in by the buzz of taking drugs.
"There’s no concept of time when you are on ketamine. and I thought it was taking me away from my troubles."
But that was far from the reality for Danielle, who has had to cope with watching friends lose their lives to the drug or need surgery to repair the damage it’s done to their bodies.
There has been a sharp rise in the number of young people developing severe bladder issues and requiring risky operations due to Ketamine addiction.The mother of one user said: "It destroys everything inside you basically. I know loads of people who have got (stoma) bags…because it makes them incontinent. "Danielle believes the drug has become popular with young people because it’s cheap and easy to get hold of.She said: "It’s a lot cheaper and easier to get hold of than other drugs."She is now in recovery after completing a drug rehab programme called The Exodus Project .Danielle now volunteers for the charity she says saved her life.But as Ketamine use continues to spiral and with NHS support services stretched to the limit – many others may struggle to beat their addiction. What is Ketamine? Ketamine is synthetic drug used in the medical and veterinary practice and is generally administered as an anaesthetic or painkiller.It is described as a ‘dissociative anaesthetic’ as it makes the person who consumes it detach from their pain and the environment.The Class B drug has increased in popularity amongst young people and teenagers and has been described as a "party drug".Chronic Ketamine use […]
Ketamine addiction: Rise in young people taking Ketamine prompts health warning
