Mum's warning after daughter, 20, dies in sad drug trend

A heartbroken mum has told of how the popular party drug ketamine “destroyed” her daughter's life before her tragic death at just 20.

Sophie Russell began taking the party drug ketamine – which is also used as an emerging treatment for depression in small doses – in 2021, at the age of 18 while out partying with friends.

Mum Tracy Marelli said the drug use began following the death of Sophie's grandmother with whom she was very close to, as a way to cope with the grief.

“I wasn't aware that she was taking drugs at all,” the mum said.

However it didn’t take long for the problem to become apparent.

“The first time I knew something was wrong, I kept ringing her up and she was slurring. She couldn't get some of her words out. This was happening quite often,” Tracy said.

"I really don't understand because she was so loved and looked after and how much to look forward to in life. I just didn't get it,” she recalled after finding the powder in her room one day.

Sophie had became reliant on the recreational drug - taking it every day at the height of her addiction. The mum-of-two said her daughter went from taking the party drug with her friends on nights out to using ketamine by herself in her bedroom on a daily basis.

Sophie, who had no underlying health issues, soon began experiencing severe pain, drastic weight loss, and bladder issues - a symptom of chronic use of the drug due to the lining of the bladder becoming so damaged and scarred that it shrinks.

Tracy said she “begged” drug and alcohol services and doctors for help - but ultimately felt “let down by the whole system” in her home town of Lincolnshire, in the UK.

Drug used by 'many young people', Sophie's friends say

The 48-year-old said Sophie was in “constant pain” and was fully incontinent at the time of her death - a side-effect of chronic ketamine usage is that it can affect the lining of the bladder.

According to her mum, Sophie wanted to curb her drug use, but struggled to kick the addiction, admitting that ketamine was rampant and very easy to purchase via apps on her phone.

The 20-year-old tragically died on the morning of September 26th after she was found unresponsive at her dad's house. A cause of death is yet to be determined.

Lincolnshire Coroner's Court confirmed that the case is currently under investigation and the inquest is yet to be opened.

The drug claimed the life of Friends Actor Matthew Perry and it's been reported that Liam Payne, who died a month ago, ingested ketamine in a drug cocktail called “pink cocaine”.

A friend of Sophie launched a GoFundMe campaign as friends carried out a hiking challenge to raise fund to donate to fighting addiction.

"Sophie began taking Ketamine at 18 recreationally as many young people do. Sophie over a short period of time became addicted to this drug, which led to months of pain and becoming isolated and lonely," the page reads.

Ketamine use on the rise in Australia

According to the Australian Alcohol and Drug Foundation, recreational ketamine use has been on the rise in the country in recent years.

Although it isn't as widely used as may other illicit drugs, it is gaining in popularity.

The amount of people who used ketamine doubled between 2016 and 2019 – from 0.4 per cent to 0.9 per cent of the population. People aged in their 20s are the group most likely to be using ketamine, the foundation found.

Since then it has continued to rise. Australia’s 2022-23 National Drug Strategy Household Survey estimated 300,000 people had used ketamine in the previous 12 months – a tripling from 2016.

Results released this month show rates of ketamine excreted into wastewater were at an all-time high, in both capital cities and regional areas.

Experts suggest the growing availability and lower price compared to other drugs if helping to fuel its growing adoption in Australia's party scene.

Ketamine is a dissociative drug. It works on the brain to produce changes in your sense in what you can see and hear. It can also create a sense of detachment from reality.

with Kennedy News

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