Drug War Gets Dirtier as What You Flush Becomes Evidence

[Anthony Townsend]

http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/15-06/st_dirtierwar

Drug War Gets Dirtier as What You Flush Becomes Evidence

Joshua Davis 

Think twice before you flush the toilet. You might be sending evidence straight to the authorities — at least if you're getting high in Italy or Switzerland. Scientists there recently did a study in which they tracked narcotic use through municipal sewage systems. Twice a day, at weekly intervals, wastewater was spirited out of treatment plants in Milan and Lugano, dried with a blast of nitrogen, then injected into a mass spectrometer to detect illicit substances. They kept tabs on methamphetamine, cocaine, marijuana, heroin, and morphine use for five months. What did they learn? Not surprisingly, meth and cocaine use spiked on Fridays and Saturdays. Overall, drug consumption was nearly double official estimates, which relied on crime data and interviews. It seems people are reluctant to disclose weekend binges. Now they don't have to. It'll all come out in the end.