The father of a ‘brilliant, clever’ lad who lost his life to ketamine addiction at just 23 has spoken out about the devastating effects of the drug.
Craig Hamer, 43, revealed how his son Ethan first began using the class B drug when he was only 14, but his usage spiralled following a family bereavement in 2020.
However, his addiction deteriorated further after his mother’s death in 2024, prompting him to take as much as seven grams of the drug daily, which caused continuous urination and left him ‘stinking of urine’ due to bladder damage.
Father-of-one Ethan died on April 28 this year shortly after being discharged from hospital where he had been treated for kidney failure, Leeds Live reports.
An inquest held earlier this month determined that his death was ‘drug-related’ and that Ethan had not eaten or drunk anything for several days, reports
Craig disclosed his son’s addiction was so severe he had built up debts with drug dealers and was selling the drugs himself to obtain them.
The heartbroken father, from Halifax, West Yorkshire, said: “He started taking ketamine, he wasn’t dealing [very well] with his emotions.
“He was taking more, and the pain – I was basically watching my son, who was a very confident, popular lad who had loads of friends, loads of girlfriends, turn into this person within a few months that people wouldn’t want to go near. He stunk of pee – he couldn’t hold his urine in. He was peeing all over, he was constipated.
“We’ve got him on camera outside the house pulling his pants down trying to stop the pain. All he thought about was this drug. It just consumed him, he wanted to take more and more and more. He stopped eating. I did everything for him, I paid all his bills, I paid his rent, I did his shopping for him.”
“He would eat Dolmio sauce raw off the spoon. He had food thrown all over his house. He got to a point where he couldn’t eat, he would eat Dolmio sauce raw off the spoon. It destroyed every part of him and I just couldn’t get any help. He basically just cut himself off from everybody.”
Despite social services intervening, father Craig says he was helpless to obtain the assistance Ethan desperately required.
On April 24 – five days before his death – Ethan called for an ambulance and was rushed to hospital, complaining of severe stomach pain and uncontrollable urination.
Yet, barely 24 hours later, he discharged himself against medical advice – ignoring doctors’ warnings that he should stay.
Father Craig contacted social services the next day, Friday, April 25, requesting a welfare check on his son – but the appeal was ignored.
By Monday, April 28, he had died. Craig is now leading a campaign to reclassify ketamine from a class B substance to the most severe classification, class A.
He hopes that stricter penalties will deter dealers from distributing the drug and make it too expensive for young people to experiment with. An online fundraiser to cover Ethan’s funeral costs and provide support for his four-month-old daughter, Alora-Jane, has already raised over £2,500.
Craig declared: “It needs to be classified class A so there’s tougher sentences straight away. It will become more expensive, because dealers will want more for the risk. On top of that, it stops kids from being able to afford it. I’d say it’s less than a tenner to be able to get some – I don’t know. I see all kids on it, if you know what you’re looking for, you see them on it.’Kids selling to kids to make money'”It’s all the young lads, and girls, from estates. All the young lads that are not as privileged as other kids.
It’s rife, it’s kids selling to kids to make money, and even the kids that are selling it are getting addicted. The older dealers know they’re feeding it to kids.
“Craig urged parents who suspect their children are using ketamine to adopt a zero-tolerance stance. He advised: “Deal with it straight away. Don’t listen to anything they say. He kept saying to me ‘I’m fine dad, I’m fine, don’t worry, I’m fine’. ” He wasn’t fine.This drug is bad. It’s the worst drug I’ve ever come across, this is the worst of them all.
“If there are any kids out there on it – parents need to take it really seriously. Get them into rehab, push to just do anything you can to help them, otherwise you’re going to lose them.”
