EUDA webinar: Ketamine in Europe
Objective: This webinar aims to provide insights into the European ketamine market and will expand on health-related harms caused by non-medical ketamine use.
Background: Ketamine (‘K’, ‘ket’, ‘keta’ or ‘special K’) is a synthetic substance with a long-established role in human and veterinary medicine as an anaesthetic and analgesic. Developed in the 1960s as a safer alternative to phencyclidine (PCP), ketamine quickly found a use in emergency medicine, trauma care and field settings requiring rapid-acting, reliable anaesthesia. Given its reliability, affordability and chemical stability, it was included in the World Health Organization (WHO) model list of essential medicines, but it is also indispensable in veterinary practice and increasingly used in the treatment of depression. In recent years, however, ketamine has become a growing presence in illicit drug markets across Europe, with rising seizures, declining prices and increasing health harms raising concerns among public health and law enforcement authorities.
This webinar presents the findings of a recent Ketamine in Europe: EMPACT situation report, examining both the European illicit market and the health risks associated with the drug’s non-medical use (see news item).
In conversation with:
- Dr Rita Jorge, European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA);
- Dr Wouter van der Sanden, Jeroen Bosch Hospital (Netherlands).
Chairperson and opening remarks: Andrew Cunningham, Head of sector, Crime, markets and precursors, EUDA.
Support team: Marica Ferri, Tim Surmont, Anna Ferrara, Marco Costa, Silke Vitt (EUDA).
Format: Opening remarks, speaker presentations, panellists’ questions, audience Q&A and closing remarks.
Length: 1 hour
Participants: Open to all registered attendees (a joining link will be provided upon registration).
Webinar etiquette: We welcome participants using the chat during the webinar but kindly ask them to refrain from using it for airing grievances, promoting events/commercial initiatives or misusing contact details. Please engage with courtesy and respect. Violation of these guidelines may result in exclusion from the chat by the administrator. Thank you for your cooperation in making this webinar a positive and focused learning experience for all.
Date: 27 May 2026, 14:00–15:00 Lisbon time (WEST) — 15:00–16:00 (CEST).
Platform: Zoom.