I'd get up and sniff ketamine before I'd had breakfast

James Triggs found himself in the grip of an addiction that nearly ruined his life A man has spoken out about his addiction to ketamine as warnings continue about a “pandemic” spreading on the streets of Merseyside. Last month, the ECHO spoke to experts, a Liverpool city councillor and a dad whose 15 year-old son is using the drug. The heartbroken dad told how his son is suffering from his addiction, losing weight and struggling to wee.

He believes there needs to be greater education and awareness of the issue, which city councillor Lynnie Hinnigan said is reaching pandemic levels . Now James Triggs is sharing his story in a bid to raise awareness of what he calls a "dangerous crisis". James, from Bootle , started using the drug four years ago during nights out around Liverpool.



But while James had been able to use other drugs in moderation over the years, ketamine “took hold” of him and he ended up in the grip of addiction. At one point he was sniffing ketamine “every day”, often before he had his breakfast, as he claims the drug made him feel relaxed and calm. But the drug also gave him high-blood pressure, resulting in him suffering a mini-heart attack.

The 26-year-old is now in the early stages of his rehab at a residential home in Merseyside. This came after he attended the Lifeboat Project, one of Liverpool’s first support groups dedicated to ketamine addiction. The ECHO contacted James after he shared his story publicly on TikTok , urging others in a similar situation to act and seek help.

Explaining how he felt while using ketamine he said: ”It feels like it sedates you and takes all your problems away. “When you’re on it, you come up with all these crazy ideas of what you're going to do with your life. I've had other drugs in the past and been able to put them down, but it’s like this has a hold on me.

” For a significant amount of time, James was taking the drug every day. He said: “I isolated myself in my flat and that's where it took me. Before I was even having my breakfast, bang, I was having it.

I was having it every day. That was my routine.” As time went on, James’s addiction transformed his personality for the worse and wrecked many of his close relationships.

He said: “When I was using it every day, I was going through a bad time. I was living a chaotic lifestyle. “I was lying to people about it, saying I wasn’t on it when I was.

It wasn't an honest living and that's why obviously I've burnt a lot of bridges. “It completely took over my life and ruined previous relationships. It’s turned me into a sort of shell of a man.

I used to be very confident. It’s stripped me of that. People always said to me, you’re good at helping people, that’s your thing.

It’s stripped me of that too.” Initially, the various health warnings given to James by doctors weren’t enough to stop him. He said: “I've been told by doctors I will die if I carry on.

“I've had high blood pressure. I got told by a doctor in hospital once, if my heart rate had gone any higher, I would've had a stroke. I’ve already had a mini heart attack.

"That's the insanity of it. Even when I was in hospitals and I was getting told stuff like this, I was still carrying on. I got told by a doctor, if I carry on sniffing this drug, I will die and that wasn’t enough to scare me.

” For the past year, James has tried to address his addiction. He had a period of sobriety around the Christmas period last year before relapsing. Things began to change for James when he started to attend meetings at The Lifeboat Project, held at the League of Welldoers centre on Limekiln Lane in Vauxhall every Friday at 2pm.

The experience brought him together with others facing similar struggles and convinced him that he couldn’t go clean in the community. James says the Lifeboat helped get him a place at the home, where he has been for around a week. He said: “It's the best I've ever felt to be honest.

Obviously you’re with like minded people. I can't get well in the community. I knew that I couldn't carry on living life like I have been.

” His time there convinced him to share his experience on TikTok as a way to hold himself accountable and raise awareness of what he sees as a dangerous crisis. He also says he is mending relationships with those close to him, with another person helping him run his account. Following the post, James was flooded with supportive messages which came as a huge surprise to him.

He said: “I didn't think I was going to get that response. “I know others struggling with this and can see that there's a massive ketamine problem in Liverpool. So I thought to myself, I’m going to put this out there.

“It’s also to make me think, imagine if I relapsed now after putting that out there. I want to lead by example. When I'm out and I'm well, I can start helping other people.

“Ketamine is so available and cheap, and it makes you feel good. I wouldn’t know because I’m a 1999 baby, but people say it’s the modern day heroin - back in the 1980s there was a heroin pandemic in Liverpool. I think there's going to be a lot of deaths from this city very soon if it doesn't get sorted and the awareness doesn't get out there.

“For people struggling, get support before it's too late because this drug will slowly kill you. That's the best way I can describe it. It will slowly kill you.

"It's a silent killer. I genuinely thought there was no way out. I’ve not been here long, but I’m feeling better and I’m determined to get well this time.

” Support is available for those going through similar issues to James. For under 19s, you can contact the Young People’s Drug & Alcohol Team (YPDAAT) on 01744 675605. For adults aged 19 and over, contact Change, Grow, Live (CGL) on 01744 410752 or visit www.

changegrowlive.org . Help and advice for ketamine addiction and abuse from UK Addiction Treatment Centres ( UKAT) is available here.

The ketamine support group sessions from The Lifeboat Project take place at the League of Welldoers centre on Limekiln Lane in Vauxhall every Friday at 2pm. If you believe ketamine is being dealt on the streets, you can contact Merseyside Police via the social media desk on X @MerPolCC or Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre’. You can also pass information via Crimestoppers anonymously, on 0800 555 111 or via their online form at: https://crimestoppers-uk.

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