Ketamine killed our kids after leaving them crippled like old men… it’s even harder to kick than heroin
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SOPHIE Russell knew that ketamine was going to kill her - but the ‘party’ drug had her so tightly in its grip that she could not kick the deadly habit. A spell in rehab, trips to accident and emergency and the total loss of control of her bladder were not enough to end the addiction for the student from Lincoln.
![[Tracy Marelli holding photo of daughter Sophie who died from ketamine use]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tracy-marelli-lincoln-lost-20-962406532.jpg?strip=all&w=642)
Tragically, Sophie died in September, aged just 20, from chronic ketamine misuse - just three years after first trying the illegal substance with pals on a night out. For that reason her grieving mum Tracy Marelli is backing plans to reclassify this powerful anaesthetic as a class A drug.
![[Sophie Russell was killed by a ketamine addiction in September]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/2c9e9399-dd20-4d61-8a05-86de6a103ae4_ee6205.jpg?strip=all&w=738)
Currently, it is rated as a class B substance, placing it alongside cannabis which is considered by many to be a “soft drug.”. It is a mistaken belief among many young people that ketamine is “safe” that has led to the country being in the midst of what is known as Generation Ket.
![[Tracy says Sophie could not escape ketamine dealers on her Lincoln estate]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tracy-marelli-lincoln-lost-20-962406660.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
Many parents report that their children have even been told by misinformed medics that it isn’t addictive - even though at least 55 people died in Britain from the habit in 2023. It was also responsible for the death of Friends' star Matthew Perry last year.
![[Sophie felt there was no escape from the readily available drug]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/tracy-marelli-lincoln-lost-20-962406610.jpg?strip=all&w=443)
Sophie said to me, ‘it's everywhere.’ She couldn’t get away from it. One drug charity has revealed to The Sun that the number of people they are trying to help kick their ketamine habit has more than doubled in five years. The most recent figures show that a quarter of 16-to 24-year-olds have tried it and around 300,000 people aged 16-59 in the UK are currently taking the drug.
![[Clare Rogers is calling for ketamine to be a class A drug]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/died-using-ketamine-got-addicted-844953979.jpg?strip=all&w=640)
