Ketamine use is continually evolving. As availability increases and national reviews of its classification continue, communities are seeing rising social harms and physical health concerns. These emerging challenges require informed, coordinated, and targeted harm reduction responses.
Join Project 6 and Transform Drug Policy Foundation for a half-day conference exploring how communities, services, policymakers, and people with lived experience can shape a practical, evidence-informed, and compassionate response to ketamine use.
30/04/26
13.30 – 16.30
Little Theatre Doncaster – 1 King Street, off East Laith Gate, Doncaster DN1 1JD
Book your place
Speakers:
Vicky Unwin: After her 21-year-old daughter died from an accidental ketamine overdose, Vicky became a leading voice for evidence-based drug education and reform. She is Chair of Transform Drug Policy Foundation and a member of Anyone’s Child.
Katy Porter: CEO, The Loop. The Loop is the UK’s first dedicated drug checking charity, delivering evidence-informed drug checking and harm reduction services in order to reduce drug-related harm and deaths.
Prof. Anne Campbell: Queen’s University and Chair of the ACMD Harm Reduction, Treatment and Recovery Committee
Neil Woods: A former undercover police officer and co-author of two bestselling books on the drugs trade, Good Cop, Bad War and Drug Wars. Neil is Chair of Law Enforcement Action Partnership
Mat Southwell: Managing and Technical Director, Coact. Mat has worked in the drugs and HIV fields as a practitioner, manager and activist for 30 years. He has sustained an interest in developing collaborative peer and professional responses to new drugs trends and stimulant drugs. Mat has a particular interest in ketamine and recently gave evidence to the UK’s Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs Working Group on Ketamine.
Naomi Azeez: Naomi is a drugs worker with Project 6. Through her professional and personal experience, she is a passionate advocate for the development of culturally relevant support to address racial disparities in health outcomes.
Abbie Christie: Over has a decade of lived experience ketamine use, with a joint degree in nursing and social work. Abbie campaigns to raise awareness of the complexities of ketamine addiction and systemic barriers to support.
Mason Stillings: Mason is an active campaigner for improved awareness of ketamine harms and recovery pathways. He is co-organiser of REC, the UK’s largest peer support group for ketamine users, moderator of /r/KetamineAddiction, lead facilitator of K.W.H.O.L.E., a weekly structured peer support Zoom meeting, and Ambassador for the charity Ketamine2Recovery.
Be part of a conversation with diverse voices from health, policy, research, service delivery, law enforcement, and lived experience about what works on the ground, what keeps people safer, what communities need, and how we can align practice, policy, and research in ways that reduce harm and strengthen wellbeing.