Ketamine could be upgraded to a Class A drug after death of addict student engineer, 26, who died after his bladder shrank to the size of a toddler’s

Ketamine could be upgraded to a Class A drug after a 26-year-old man became so addicted that his bladder shrank to the size of a toddler.

Rhian Rogers, from Atherstone, Warwickshire, was found in a bathroom of his shared home four days after he died from a dose of the class B party drug in April.

His mother Clare, a 47-year-old midwife, had spent thousands of pounds sending her son to rehab and flushing his drugs down the toilet in a bid to stop his substance abuse.

Ketamine, which can be bought for the same price as takeaway coffee, is said to be the drug of choice for dealers as its Class B status means less jail time than being caught with Class A drugs such as cocaine, ecstasy or heroin.

The drug, often used at parties or festivals, has a false reputation of being safe, with many young people unaware of its potentially fatal consequences.

The 26-year-old from Atherstone, Warwickshire, saw his bladder shrink to the size of a toddler after taking the party drug

Rhian's mother flushed his medication down the toilet in an attempt to kick his addiction

Data showed that one in four 16 to 24 year olds have tried ketamine, while one in 20 are regular users. Now families of Gen Ket – Generation Ketamine – are calling for the law to change.

The Home Office could now consider upgrading the drug following Rhian's death, with urology surgeons raising the alarm after seeing a spike in so-called 'ketamine bladder'.

It can cause drug users to become incontinent, requiring them to wear sanitary pads to work and moisten their beds, carpets and furniture. Some even keep empty water bottles next to their beds so they can fill them with bloody urine at night.

Rhian, who won two national awards for computer innovations at Jaguar Land Rover, had been on the NHS waiting list for treatment for his damaged urinary tract for so long that he started using the drug as an anesthetic to ease his pain.

An invitation to his appointment arrived while his funeral was being arranged – 19 months after he was referred.

His mother Clare is now fighting for more support to prevent other young people, like Rhian, who became addicted living alone in a locked flat after taking ketamine at music festivals, from dying from taking the drug.

'This drug is a killer. Bladders are being taken from young children,” she told the Times.

Rhian was found in a bathroom of his shared home four days after he died in April from a dose of the class B party drug

Rhian and his girlfriend Chloe, 26, from Tamworth, both started using the drug at festivals

'Why is ketamine not classified as class A, when it causes so much harm to our children?'

Ketamine causes the bladder to shrink, causing extreme pain and increased urination.

Rhian's bladder problems were so bad that he needed a room with a private bathroom when he went to university in Nottingham and took four different types of painkillers as well as two anti-inflammatory drugs.

His mother previously told The Sun: 'Rhian was sporty and smart, with so many friends. He had everything to live for, but ketamine took it all away.

“He barely drank or used other drugs, but ketamine became his tool to help him cope with his grief and numb the pain.”

Ketamine, which was upgraded from a class C to a class B drug in 2011, is used by vets as a horse tranquilizer – and dealers often use a horse emoji when trying to sell it online.

The drug – called 'ket' or 'K' – is usually snorted in powder form and can make people feel disconnected or distant from their body or physical environment.

Home Secretary Chris Philp has now written to Rhian's MP Chris Tracey suggesting the government investigate whether the drug could be reclassified.

Rhian with his girlfriend at a festival

'If you have evidence that there is widespread systemic harm caused by ketamine, which could mean that reconsideration of the classification from Class B to Class A is warranted, please share this with the Home Office and I will ensure that it is being very carefully considered,” The Times said.

Rhian's former girlfriend Chloe, 26, from Tamworth, told the Sun: 'I was in and out of hospital with horrible side effects but I still couldn't stop.

'For Rhian and me it started as a fun festival event. But it escalated so quickly to the opposite, so we never left our flat again.'

Chloe eventually stopped taking the drug after being dependent on it for almost a decade.

Professor Adam Winstock, founder of research group the Global Drug Survey, said that while the risk of dying from a ketamine overdose is very low, Britain has been one of the biggest users of ketamine over the past five to 10 years.'