File on 4 Investigates - Generation K: Kids on Ketamine

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File on 4 Investigates goes to Burnley in Lancashire to meet the young people and their families as they grapple with a ketamine epidemic.
Used in human and veterinary medicine as an anaesthetic, experts say the drug is being used by increasing numbers of young people because it's cheap, easy to obtain and fashionable. But the health implications can be catastrophic - even fatal. It can cause mental health problems and irreversible bladder and kidney damage. Reporter Jane Deith hears from the Burnley vicar who has had to set up a support group for desperate parents; families whose children have experienced addiction, grooming, abuse and ill health and a young man who is being forced to undergo gruelling medical treatment for what’s known as “ketamine bladder”.

Reporter: Jane Deith
Producers: Jill Collins and Nicola Dowling
Technical producer: Richard Hannaford
Production coordinator: Tim Fernley
Editor: Carl Johnston

Published on Tuesday, 25th February 2025.

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