A 22-year-old film director from Elstree will be screening her debut documentary on the illegal drug ketamine next month.

“Lost in K Hole?”, by Belinda Barnett, examines the physical and psychological effects of the narcotic, and asks why it has failed to gain the same media notoriety as other Class A drugs.

She said: “This drug is so well known to people in the clubbing and party scene, but there is nothing about it in the wider media.

“One of my main goals when making this film was to give people information they can’t find elsewhere.

“I am not telling people not to take drugs, but just believe they should know what they are taking beforehand.

“Recreationally, people take about 200-times the recommended amount used in hospitals, and tolerance grows very quickly .

“It is often disguised as cocaine, but can make you fall into a state when you are drowsy and vulnerable and can make no judgements.

“It can take you completely out of reality and into another world, or even cause respiratory collapse.”

As well as detailing the negative impact of the drug, the film investigates the cultural significance of ketamine’s popularity.

Ms Barnett, who grew up in Hartfield Avenue, questions why a tranquiliser has become more popular than stimulants such as cocaine and ecstasy in recent years.

She says she was inspired to make the 13-minute documentary after observing the ketamine subculture first-hand.

“In the past ten years, use of the drug has doubled, which is unheard of in any other drug. And that is only the people who admit to it.

“People seem to be switching from recreational drugs to this, but why do people want to be comatosed rather than sociable? It asks a lot of questions about our society."

Ms Barnett’s company, BB Entertainment, will be holding a free screening of the film at Ruby Blue, Leicester Place, Leicester Square, at 7:30pm on June 1.

Anyone wishing to reserve a seat should email Belinda Barnett at bbentertainment@hotmail.co.uk.

More information about the film can be found at bbentertainment.wordpress.com