Former user Kelly said the bladder issues linked to prolonged use were sometimes nicknamed ‘Bristol bladder’
The vibrant skyline of Totterdown with Gaol Ferry Bridge in the foreground, Bristol(Image: Paul Gillis / Reach PLC)
Bristol has taken the title of the ‘Ketamine Capital of Europe’ as some users have had to have their bladders removed due to execcive use of the drug.
A recent study by the European Union Drugs Agency, which measured ketamine by-products in the wastewater of 115 European cities, showed that Bristol likely took more ketamine per capita in 2025 than any other city included in the study.
The figures showed a staggering daily mean of 338.95 mg per 1,000 people- more than double that of the second-highest city, Amsterdam, which recorded 149.33 mg per 1,000 people.
This is not the first time Bristol has topped the study, with the city previously ranking as Europe’s biggest user of cocaine in 2018.
Ketamine, also known as K or Ket, is a drug used safely in hospitals as an anaesthetic and painkiller. However, it is also sold illegally in powder form and used recreationally as a dissociative, often associated with party and club scenes.
While the city’s nightlife is world-renowned, such as for being the home of drum and bass, its rave culture may help explain Bristol’s high levels of ketamine use.
Kelly, who lives in Bristol, began taking ketamine at the age of 26 after becoming involved in the rave scene.
The 38-year old recalled hearing people refer to ketamine as ‘Bristol Crystal’, while the bladder issues linked to prolonged use were sometimes nicknamed ‘Bristol bladder’.
“Some people eventually have to get their whole bladder removed, and it’s young people who are coming into urology departments,” she explained. She added that some young people even have to wear incontinence products.
A still image taken from AFPTV shows a dealer holding a bag of ketamine in London on June 19, 2025. Ketamine, an anesthetic drug misused in party settings for its hallucinogenic effects and available at low prices, has become very popular among young Britons. To the point that some experts are describing it as an “epidemic.” The crisis led the government in January to seek the advice of an official advisory body on whether to reclassify ketamine as a Class A substance. (Photo by Julie EZVAN / AFPTV / AFP) (Photo by JULIE EZVAN/AFPTV/AFP via Getty Images)
Kelly credits her time in rehab with helping to protect her bladder by giving her breaks from ketamine use, although she still experienced some of the physical tolls.
“I would have to get up lots of times throughout the night to go to the toilet. It would come on really suddenly, and then hardly anything would come out,” she said.
She explained that her friends have been given UTI treatments when they have gone to the doctors for these issues in the past, and that some medical professionals don’t know enough about the drug and its effects on the body.
In addition, she experienced severe abdominal pain known as ‘K cramps’, which left her in bed and being sick for extended periods.
“I used ketamine for a long time, around ten years, and went to different rehabs and things like that, but there just wasn’t any ketamine-specific support available,” she said.
Speaking about the wider issue, she added: “We’ve been turning up at doctors, hospitals, and even rehabs, and they don’t know what to do with us because it’s still such an unknown problem.”
Kelly, alongside co-facilitators Simon and Imogen, co-founded the Bristol-based community project The K-Hold last month, which provides a supportive space for people to discuss the social and physical impacts of past or present ketamine use.
