A GRIEVING mum has told how her son died in agony after becoming addicted to Ketamine.
Rian Rogers, 26, had his bladder shrunk to the size of a marble while hooked to the popular Class B party drug.
Clare Rogers has told how her son Rian’s bladder shrunk to the size of a toddlers
Rian died at age 26
Urologists are reporting seeing thousands of young people a year dealing with “ketamine bladder” – which occurs from overuse.
Sufferers become completely incontinent – forcing them to fill bottles with bloodied urine through the night.
Clare Rogers has now told how her son Rian was found dead in a shower with a fatal dose of ketamine in his body while on the waiting list to have his bladder removed.
Clare told The Times: “This drug is a killer. It is taking bladders from young children.
“Why is ketamine not class A when it is doing so much harm to our kids?”
Ketamine was discovered in 1962 and was used in casualty clearing stations in the Vietnam War as an anesthetic.
But its mind-altering effects have made it a popular party drug and the hallucinatory experience is commonly known as being K-holed.
It was not until the late 1980s and the arrival of rave culture that it really took off as a recreational drug.
Clare had spent thousands of pounds sending her son to rehab, but he had already begun to take more Ketamine to numb the pain of his bladder problems.
By then Rian had developed an ulcerated bladder, a common side effect of prolonged, heavy ketamine use, and was in intense pain.
Scans showed his bladder capacity had shrunk from the regular 500ml to just 90ml.
Clare previously told The Sun: “Rian was sporty and bright, with so many friends. He had everything to live for, but ketamine took all that away.”
But when his best friend died in a road accident while high on the drug in 2018, Rian’s usage escalated.
Clare said: “He hardly drank and didn’t do any other drugs, but ketamine became his tool to help him deal with his grief, numbing his pain.”
The drug has a false reputation for being “safe” — many youngsters believe it can’t kill and are unaware of the possible fatal consequences.
One dose of the powerful sedative — also known as Special K, Ket or Kit Kat — costs £3.
After Rian’s death Home Office minister Chris Philp wrote to Rhian’s MP Chris Tracey suggesting the Government is looking into reclassifying the drug.
He wrote: “If you have evidence that there are systemic harms caused by ketamine on a widespread scale, which may mean reconsideration of the classification from class B to class A is merited, then please do share this with the Home Office and I will make sure that it is considered very carefully.”