The Home Office may reclassify ketamine in response to record levels of use
Ketamine, the anesthetic Elon Musk used to control his mood, could be reclassified as a Class A drug by the Home Office after illegal use reached record levels last year.
Currently controlled as a Class B substance, ministers are seeking “expert advice” on reclassification after an estimated 299,000 people reported using the drug last year.
The billionaire owner of to keep under control.
Dame Diana Johnson, the police minister, will write to the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) asking whether its classification should be changed and the findings given “careful consideration”.
Recent reports cited by the Interior Ministry suggest the substance is commonly found in ‘pink cocaine’, a synthetic cocktail of drugs, as the ministry announced the decision.
A coroner wrote to Yvette Cooper, the Home Secretary, in November calling for action on the drug’s classification following the death of a man.
Greater Manchester South senior coroner Alison Mutch found that James Boland, 38, from Manchester, had died from sepsis caused by a kidney infection that was “a complication of long-term use of ketamine”.
In a report on the prevention of future deaths, she said that keeping ketamine as class B would “likely encourage others to start using it or continue to use it under the false impression that it is ‘safer’”.
Ketamine is licensed in Britain as an anesthetic and for short-term pain relief, but is not available on the NHS. A version of ketamine is licensed for use to stop depression.
There has been a dramatic increase in the drug’s use in the US, with the expansion of ketamine clinics and online services that provide easy access to the drug, as well as an unregulated market.
The Friends actor Matthew Perry died after taking a fatal overdose of ketamine in October 2023, his third injection of the day. After climbing into a hot tub, the comedian asked an employee to “shoot me with a big one,” according to court documents.
Doctors raised concerns in March after Musk claimed in an interview with former CNN host Don Lemon that ketamine was helpful in trying to get out of a “negative state of mind.”
Lemon asked Musk if he ever “abuses” ketamine, which the billionaire says he uses under a doctor’s supervision. Musk replied: “I don’t think so. If you use too much ketamine, you don’t really get any work done, and I have a lot of work to do.”
Also known by the slang term Special K, the drug usually comes as a crystalline powder or liquid. Possession of a Class B drug can mean up to five years in prison or up to 14 years for supply and production. A Class A drug carries up to seven years in prison for possession and up to life in prison for supply and production.
In a statement, Johnson said: “Ketamine is an extremely dangerous substance and the recent increase in its use is deeply concerning. Through our plan for change and our mission to make the nation’s streets safer, we will work together across health, policing and wider public services to reduce drug use and deter those who benefit from its supply keep.
“It is vital that we respond to the latest evidence and advice to keep people safe. We will carefully consider the ACMD’s recommendations before making a decision.”