Mother of 13-year-old child addicted to ketamine warns of manipulative drug dealers

ITV Granada Reports journalist Emma Sweeney has been speaking to a mum whose 13-year-old child is addicted to the Class B drug Ketamine.

A mother whose 13-year-old child is addicted to ketamine is warning something as simple as a "bad mood" has the potential to "push children into the arms" of drug dealers.

The woman - whose real identity ITV Granada Reports has protected - says young people are being exposed to things far beyond what they are capable of understanding.

She believes children from any background can be "wrapped up in cotton wool" but still be influenced by dangerous dealers who "manipulate" situations.

“It doesn't matter how much you love them," she said. "Their love for the drug and love for their peers tends to be more than the respect and love they have for you. It overpowers everything.”

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 can have adverse side effects including, unconsciousness, cognitive problems including amnesia and difficulty passing urine.

• Ketamine is broken down by the body and eliminated through urine and the toxic chemicals from the drug can affect bladders, leading to difficulties holding urine or even causing people to urinate blood.

• Inflammation of the bladder can also lead to irreversible scarring, that - if people continue to take ketamine - will leave them without any bladder function at all, and potentially having to use a stoma bag.

The mum, who lives in the North West of England, says the suppliers who sell the so-called "party drug" to children like hers are a "virus".

She said: “It doesn't matter what background you come from. It doesn't matter how much you love your child. It doesn't matter if you wrap them in cottonwool every day. 

“There will be a situation that happens in the home that will send your child out of that door. Whether it be something as simple as you arguing about the gravy being too lumpy.

"That can be enough to push them into the arms of these people. They [drug dealers] use that broken relationship to manipulate the situation and once they're in it's like it's like a virus."

Academics from Manchester’s Metropolitan University have warned that some recent batches of the drug Ketamine that are in circulation have also been found to contain a second tranquilliser.

Xylazine, often known as ‘tranq’, is a high-strength veterinary sedative, has been identified in drugs confiscated by Greater Manchester Police and tested by the university.

Experts say its presence is a "significant worry" and there are concerns that "people just are playing Russian Roulette" when they are taking ketamine.

Xylazine and 21 other dangerous drugs have recently been banned in the UK as part of the government’s action to prevent drug deaths and crack down on drug dealing gangs.

Some have described the issue of ketamine addiction as a "national crisis", with more children and young people now reporting problems with ketamine than cocaine for the first time ever.

In Burnley, Father Alex Frost has become so worried about the number of youngsters using the drug that is recently set up a mother's support group. He believes the growing issue demands a multi-agency response.

Father Alex Frost, of St Matthew's the Apostle, said: “I think there is a real desire to make headway in resolving this issue but there's a long way to go and there's a lot to unpick things to do educational, physical and mental.

"There's a lot of work to do and I hope that the people who do what they can provide and change things.”

Inspector Matt Plummer, of Burnley and Rossendale Police, insist they are on the front foot when it comes to tackling drugs but they say they need the public's help.

He said: “Absolutely we have a grip on it. We are receiving intelligence from the community and we would like to receive more.

"It's really clear that people in the community know who is supplying these drugs and who is giving it to our children. So I urge people to report that information to us.”

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