'It's scary, but going into rehab is the best thing'

Woman shares experience after Delamere stay for ketamine dependency

- BY JOSH PENNINGTON AND NICOLE WOOTTON-CANE

KNOWN as a budget party drug that can induce a dreamy state, returning users to clarity within an hour, ketamine’s initial allure is often the same a quick bump in the dimly lit loo of a club or on a faux leather sofa in a damp student flat.

Yet, the hidden dangers of ketamine are what many users fail to recognise, allowing it to masquerade as innocuous. These perils are starkly revealed at Cheshire's Delamere Clinic.

"I genuinely didn’t think you could get addicted," shared 25-year-old Lily (not her real name for privacy reasons) with our sister paper the Manchester Evening News, as we sat in a tranquil therapy room at the clinic, the Cheshire countryside stretching out peacefully beyond the windows.

For Lily, this idyllic setting also stirs difficult memories.

She was a ‘guest’ at Delamere last year, seeking help for her ketamine dependency alongside other young individuals.

Her journey into addiction began typically enough: as a teenager, she accepted a friend's offer of ketamine, having heard rumours of its non-addictive nature, and decided to experiment.

"I still remember the first time I tried ketamine," she recalled. "I'll never forget it. I just connected with it so differently to how I felt when I did other drugs. Everything just slowed down. I felt like all my worries and anxieties went away it was euphoric. I thought 'I want to feel like this all the time."

Lily began purchasing and using ketamine more frequently in an attempt to ‘chase’ the euphoria she felt on her initial encounter. Initially, she limited her use to weekends and nights out.

However, upon starting university, drug use became a daily part of her life as she delved deeper into the rave scene.

"I had a group of friends where we were all doing a lot of drugs," she explained. "It became the norm. I was doing other drugs alongside it, but for me, ket was the drug I enjoyed doing the most.