
Ketamine use amongst people who regularly use ecstasy in Australia
Apr 30, 2021
The National Drug and Alcohol Research and Education Centre (NDARC) has recently published a bulletin titled “Ketamine use among people who regularly use ecstasy and other illicit stimulants in Australia: trends and characteristics of use, 2009-2019.” The bulletin analyses data collected as a part of the annual “Ecstasy and Related Drugs Study” (EDRS), which shows that amongst people who regularly use ecstasy, there was a steady and consistent increase in the use of ketamine from 2009 where 10% of respondents reported recent use of ketamine, to 2019 where 41% of respondents reported recent ketamine use. The increase was seen across all capital cities, however Melbourne and Sydney saw some of the highest increases. Frequency of use was low with a median of four days of ketamine use reported for each year of monitoring, and the age of those who reported recent ketamine use was slightly higher (20-24) than those who had not recently used ketamine (17-20).