Ketamine is 'leaving people in nappies', warns deputy mayor
BBCThe deputy mayor of West Yorkshire says the effects of taking ketamine can be "catastrophic" - and tackling it is one of her priorities.
Baroness Alison Lowe, who oversees policing and crime, has been answering questions on Message the Mayor on BBC Radio Leeds.
The deputy mayor was also asked about knife crime, the number of police officers who have been barred, and her own future.
You can read our takeaways below, or listen to the full interview here.
We need children and young people to understand the dangers of ketamine
"The impact on the body is catastrophic - it's very cheap and it's very popular.
"Ketamine is a nasty drug - it wrecks the body, it can kill, and once that damage is done to the bladder, it is permanent and we will have young people literally in nappies for the rest of their life."
Ketamine is commonly used as a horse tranquiliser.
In September, doctors told the BBC children as young as 13 are getting bladder damage related to the Class B drug.
Police recently seized £10m worth of the substance - believed to be the UK's second-largest haul - in Pontefract.
There aren't more officers committing offences - we're better at identifying them
According to new figures from the College of Policing, a record number of police officers were barred from the service across England and Wales in the year to the end of March.
In West Yorkshire, 29 were barred - up from 3 in 2020. But Lowe insists this is "not worrying".
"If we've got police officers who...go on to commit offences whilst they are police officers, they need to go.
"The dismissal process doesn't stop them being able to work with vulnerable people in other settings, so police have to go through the barred list process.
"It's naive to think we've more officers committing offences than we used to - we've just got better processes to identify them."
The reality is - knife crime is down
Jon got in touch with us to ask why authorities say knife crime has fallen, when "we can all clearly see it hasn't".
"What you see and what reality is, are not the same thing," says Lowe.
The deputy mayor says the data she has shows it is indeed falling.
"Knife crime is down 14.5% across the whole of West Yorkshire, and knife-enabled robbery - which is one of the big government priorities - is down 10.4%.
"Bradford is the best performing of all the districts in West Yorkshire.
"It is down. I don't know what you're watching on social media , or what news channels you're listening to, but the reality is - it is down."
Getting rough sleepers off the streets will be hard
Diane and Karolina both asked questions about what is being done to tackle homelessness in Leeds.
It comes after the mayor pledged almost £4m to help deal with the problem.
Lowe says the pandemic showed it can be done.
"When the government said 'everyone in', Leeds City Council, along with other councils, were given money to take people into hotels and different types of accommodation - but here in Leeds we did it with support.
"Support workers went into hotels, and wherever they were, to look at their longer term issues.
"I think we can do it again; it's going to be hard. The model we followed in Covid is the model we will be doing here in Leeds."
I won't be deputy mayor from 2028
"I was always going to stand down. This was a seven year project for me and I have loved it."
The next election for West Yorkshire Mayor is scheduled for 2028, and Labour's Tracy Brabin has already said she will be running for a third term.
But Lowe says she will not be seeking re-appointment if Brabin wins.
Lowe was appointed to the House of Lords in September 2026, where she sits as Baroness Lowe of Armley, and says she will be doing that job "full time".