The conversation around ketamine has stepped up a gear in the past couple of years, with UK regulators put under pressure by campaigners to move the classification of this substance from Class B to Class A. While this hasn’t happened yet, its proliferation as a Gen Z party drug and the negative health outcomes associated with its use outside of a clinical context mean the calls for increased scrutiny and awareness are valid.

To clear up confusion, let’s consider the current legal stance on ketamine in the UK, how it and other Class B substances, including cannabis and amphetamines, are treated, and what will change if it gets reclassified.

Penalties

Possession of any Class B drug, including ketamine, currently carries a maximum penalty of up to 5 years in prison, in addition to a fine with no upper limit. These can apply individually or in combination.

The supply and production of ketamine carries a stiffer custodial sentence of up to 14 years, with the same unlimited fine applicable. Keep in mind that supplying a controlled substance like ketamine doesn’t have to involve selling it, meaning that if you give a Class B narcotic to a friend, then you will be in the same legal boat as someone running a drug-dealing operation.

Given that we’re seeing a sharp increase in the number of people choosing to detox from ketamine at specialist clinics, with the under-30s being most likely to use the drug, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are at risk of serious legal repercussions as well.

Legitimate medical use

Ketamine is not unique in being a Class B drug that healthcare professionals can also prescribe to treat specific conditions. In this case, as well as its anaesthetic properties, ketamine’s application as a treatment for severe depression is gaining traction.

So, like medical cannabis, it is a Schedule 2 drug, enabling prescriptions to be issued and for anyone with a legitimate prescription to have ketamine without it being a criminal offence.

Potential changes and why reclassification hasn’t happened yet

Shifting ketamine out of Class B to Class A would increase the maximum penalty for possession up to 7 years, while giving those guilty of supplying and/or producing it the possibility of facing a life sentence.

One key reason that this hasn’t happened yet, and why it may never happen, is that lawmakers are keen to keep a lid on ketamine’s growth without also creating so much stigma around it that those suffering adverse health effects are reticent about seeking treatment. Likewise, deaths in which ketamine is mentioned in the post-mortem sit at under 300 in the past decade, and so it is seen as far less dangerous than even legal substances like alcohol and tobacco.

So, it’s apparent that more needs to be done to dissuade the public from taking ketamine recreationally, because damage to the bladder and negative mental health effects of long-term use represent an emergent public health crisis. However, the current law around ketamine as a Class B drug seems settled for the time being.

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