The Vivienne, whose real name was James Lee Williams, died from a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine, their heartbroken family said this week
A woman has warned about the grim reality of drug ketamine – which killed drag star The Vivienne – after it left some of her friends forced to use nappies.
Statistics show that, among 16- to 24-year-olds, the use of ketamine has increased by 231 per cent in the last 12 years and is now at its highest level since 2006, when records began. Ru Paul’s Drag Race star The Vivienne had spoken about their battle with drug addiction during the series and, in January, they were found dead at home in Cheshire. Their family yesterday confirmed the 32-year-old drag star had suffered a cardiac arrest caused by the effects of taking ketamine.
The devastated relatives warned others to never use the drug, a message echoed today by Lily Amour, who says it has ruined the lives of young adults in her life. Some of these, she says, were forced to wear nappies because their addiction caused incontinence after their bladders shrank to the size of a thimble.
Lily highlighted incontinence, kidney failure and bladder shrinkage are likely dangers linked to ketamine use. Yet, around 1,008 milligrams of the class-B drug were consumed per 1,000 people every day between January and April last year, a new report flags.
READ MORE: The Vivienne family’s selfless act revealed as Drag Race star’s cause of death confirmed
Writing for Mail Online, Lily said: “The drug had ruined the lives of many young adults around me – some of whom were forced to wear nappies because their addiction caused incontinence after their bladders shrank to the size of a thimble.
“The truth is that use can not only lead to incontinence, kidney failure and bladder shrinkage, but also memory loss, lack of muscle control, psychosis, depression and multiple cardiovascular effects. I have seen close and clever friends become addicted to a drug that they didn’t realise would ruin their bodies; school peers struggling with debilitating cramps, consumed by anxiety and pouring all their pocket money into their habit.”
One friend, Lily adds, became dependent on ketamine after finding it helped calm her during her college days. It spiralled and, eight years on and in her twenties, the pal is now incontinent and in nappies.
But it is believed ketamine, known colloquially as “Ket”, “K”, “Special K”, is relatively cheap, and easily availabile. When The Vivienne referenced their addiction during Ru Paul’s Drag Race, they said the habit “caught on a bit too quick”.
Following the tragedy, the star’s manager Simon Jones said: “We hope that by us releasing this information, we can raise awareness about the dangers of ongoing ketamine usage.”
But Lily, a journalist, believes authorities need to take ketamine addiction more seriously. She wrote: “From the rave scene to suburban sitting rooms, what was once seen as a harmless, trendy high is now at the centre of a sinister epidemic, with long-term effects that we are only beginning to understand. How many more tragic fatalities will it require before we realise that to take ketamine is to dice with death?”
