PREVIEW

WORDS BYLINE: Nailah Mahomed
A man who started using ketamine in his teens finally managed to kick the habit thanks to his nan’s powerful warning from her deathbed.
Jack Bennett started using the animal tranquiliser as a recreational drug when he was just 16. Casual use escalated into a full-blown problem three years later following the death of his much-loved older sister.
Before he knew it, he was using a quarter of an ounce of the drug a day in a bid to knock himself out and escape his mental pressures.
Jack said: “I’d get a bit paranoid, a bit mad, and the ketamine brought me down a bit. It took over me. My life became unimaginable. I spent all my money on it and I became a person I never thought I’d be.”
Two years ago, Jack’s nan told him on her deathbed to “sort your life out”.
Through the Pier Road Project - an Erith-based drug and alcohol support service, he was introduced to the Kenward Trust. Last year he moved into the charity’s facility in Yalding.
Now 36, 10 months drug-free and in stage three of the rehabilitation programme, the Bexleyheath resident has told his story as the trust campaigns to raise £156,000 so that up to 12 young people can receive specialist rehabilitation, therapy and ongoing support.
Figures for April 2025 to this March show a big year-on-year increase in admissions for ketamine addiction in people under 24. Kenward cared for 15 people - 10 men, five women - compared to seven in the previous 12 months when no females had received treatment there.
Speaking of the challenges the trust deals with, Jack, who now acts as a mentor, added: “I think it’s awful. I feel everyone’s pain. When I walked into here, I was in so much pain.
“I weighed about nine stone, and my face was all skinny. My physical health was bad, and so was my mental health. My bladder had shrunk. One of my mates had to have a whole reconstruction of their bladder. I was meant to have it but I refused.
“I’m on about 16 medications a day. And then, once a month for six months, I have to go and have a catheter to flush the liquid. I still suffer now, but I don’t let it stop me.”
Ketamine, which can be bought from dealers at £50 for seven grams, is most commonly used as an anaesthetic in medical and veterinary use.
It leaves users feeling euphoric, floaty, and relaxed, with time, space, and motion heavily distorted. Its use has been linked to long-lasting mental health issues, as well as damaging bladders and kidney problems.
Jack added: “I just want to break that stigma, especially with men. We bottle everything up and keep quiet, instead of reaching out. I’ve had some of my good friends commit suicide from ket.”
The trust says many people only seek support once the effects of addiction have become severe, with chief executive Penny Williams believing early intervention can make all the difference.
“They [users] need a lot of support in the early days so they can stop using ketamine,” she said. “But having an environment like here gives them that opportunity to come away from all the triggers and things that led them down that route and to overcome the addiction. There isn’t enough understanding of what ketamine does to your body and the pain that people go through.
“Since the pandemic, we’ve seen an increase in young people going towards drugs and alcohol to overcome some of the challenges that may have happened during Covid. That could include isolation and maybe even too much time spent on social media, and all of those things have led to more young people not feeling happy with their lives, so they turn to self-medication.”
The charity says funding pressures can prevent people from accessing treatment when they are ready to begin recovery.
Penny says that current funding comes from councils’ drug and alcohol budgets. She added that the campaign aims to ensure more people can access treatment before their addiction reaches crisis point.
“This is about making sure that when someone is ready to take that step, the support is there,” she said.
If you would like to donate to the campaign, click here: https://kenwardtrust.org.uk/help-save-young-lives