“Taking ketamine meant I needed a new bladder at seventeen”

Matt, now 23, began smoking cannabis when he was just 12 years old. By 16, he going to raves and taking 10-15g of ketamine a night. At 17, he experienced pain and problems going to the loo. Ketamine had shrunk his bladder to size normally seen in an OAP. To avoid a lifetime of incontinence, he needed a new bladder fashioned from his bowel – surgery usually reserved for pensioners. Matt is just one of many drug users featured in the BBC3 documentary Old Before My Time, highlighting the ageing effects of drugs on the body.
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