Authorities on High Alert After Record Ketamine Bust

Seized drugs. (Courtesy of AFP)

Australian authorities are on high alert following their seizure of a record amount of ketamine attempting to enter the country, amid a significant surge in illicit demand for the addictive sedative.

The use of ketamine—a sedative that can cause disorientation, memory loss, depression, seizures, and death—has quadrupled in the last seven years among people over 13, with 900,000 people having tried it in their lifetime in Australia.

Authorities seized 882 kilograms (1,945 pounds) of the anaesthetic in 2023, double the 415 kilograms in 2022. This included 84 kilograms hidden in two commercial vans on a cargo ship to Sydney, 80 kilograms concealed in 40 buckets of coating sent to Melbourne, and another 65 kilograms buried near Geelong.

In the latest major seizure, an 18-year-old from the UK attempted to smuggle 20 kilograms of the illicit drug through Sydney Airport customs in multiple suitcases on March 1.

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) have raised concerns about criminals stepping up efforts to import the prohibited substance.

“We’re reminding criminals that we are not only seizing the drugs but arresting alleged offenders who are connected to the imports. We will continue to work to target your illicit operations, identify you, and bring you to justice,” AFP Acting Commander Kristy Scott said in a statement.

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Heightened vigilance coincides with the “profound” impact of drug addiction on people and communities.

“Ketamine is a dangerous and illicit sedative. Its dissociative effects block sensory brain signals and can cause memory loss, feelings of being detached from one’s body, and prevent their ability to perceive danger,” she said.

The party drug’s sedative effects contribute to its popularity, including the the recent case of a Taiwanese national facing charges after 250 grams of it was allegedly found in white and orange capsules inside two vitamin bottles in his luggage at Brisbane Airport in October.

It comes as 300,000 Australians, or 1.4 percent of the population, reported using the drug in the past year, with those in their 20s having the highest usage rate at 4.2 percent, the latest National Drug Strategy Household Survey revealed.

It’s more popular, however, among the LGBT community, with a usage rate of 5.8 percent among people who identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, making them 3.5 times more likely to have used it compared to heterosexual people.

NSW Health Warns of Deadly Opioid in Ketamine

NSW Health Minister Ryan Park expressed his grave concern about the ketamine’s continued prevalence.

“People [must] understand this message loud and clear: ketamine is not safe to be used outside a hospital setting,” he said.

“It is dangerous, it can kill you, it can cause extreme harm.”

NSW Health warned ketamine could contain highly potent opioids like fentanyl and acetylfentanyl, leading to unexpected, rapid, and life-threatening overdoses even with tiny amounts.

The NSW Users and AIDS Association (NUAA), a non-profit organisation in NSW supporting drug users, stated ketamine and cocaine containing fentanyl led to multiple hospitalisations in recent years.

“Fentanyl is a very strong synthetic opioid, which can be up to 100x stronger than morphine. It can take less than a milligram to overdose—which is just a few grains,” an NUAA spokesperson said.

Ketamine Rise Amid Treatment-Resistant Depression

Ketamine’s rising use comes as patients with treatment-resistant depression are unable to afford ketamine treatments due to barriers in the public health system, according to University of New South Wales (UNSW) Professor Colleen Loo.

In 2022-2023, people with poor mental health were more prone to using illicit drugs in the past year (29 percent) compared to those without (15.9 percent).

Ms. Loo noted the figures coincide with a stark disparity in the accessibility and cost of ketamine-based depression treatments.

“The patented, intranasal s-enantiomeric ketamine formulation, Spravato, is priced at around $500 to $900 per dose, whereas generic ketamine stands at about $5 to $20 per dose. This high cost has led to Spravato being rejected for public reimbursement three times and thus it remains largely inaccessible for Australian patients.”

She said generic ketamine, which is equally effective but much cheaper, is also widely inaccessible due to regulatory and financial obstacles.

“One such barrier is the cost of care of patients who must be monitored for at least two hours after receiving each dose—whether an injection with generic ketamine or nasal spray with Spravato. And as ongoing doses are needed for the treatment to be effective, the mounting costs can become prohibitive for many,” she said, calling for Medicare to fund the treatment.

Meanwhile, recent heroin usage remains comparatively low in 2022-2023, with about 0.1 percent of the population (30,000 people) reporting use in the last 12 months.

The percentage of people who had injected any illicit drug in the past 12 months showed a steady decrease over time, dropping from 0.6 percent of the population in 2001 to 0.2 percent in 2022-2023.

It follows programs aiming to reduce the harms associated with injecting drugs by providing unused needles and syringes to those who use them.

There was a positive increase in the proportion of people who had used a needle and syringe program in the last year, rising from 42 percent in 2019 to 67 percent in 2022-2023.