Sewage may show levels of drug use

SCIENTISTS could soon be able to uncover the real level of drug use in the population — by examining urine in sewage plants.

Recent developments in technology means that experts will be able to calculate the amount of drugs being taken in a local community.

The EU drugs agency published a report on the subject yesterday, stating that the technology looked “increasingly promising”.

The head of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Wolfgang Gotz, said the traditional means of gauging drug use — such as population surveys — were “time-consuming and complex” and required “considerable resources” if they were to be done properly.

The report, entitled Assessing illicit drugs in wastewater, said: “Illicit drug use is, by its nature, a covert and hidden activity, and traditional survey methods (such as population or household surveys) can be inefficient and sometimes ineffective ways of estimating levels of at least some types of illicit drug use.

“The possibility that a new technique for estimating illicit drug use might be added to the existing repertoire of research methods is, therefore, an exciting prospect.”

The report said this technology analysed communal wastewater (for example, from treatment plants) for residues of illicit drugs.

It said developments in technology (including mass spectrometry) had enabled scientists to identify residues in urine, even at very low concentrations.

“This method is most useful for drug surveillance at the community level,” said the report.

“... And because wastewater sampling and analysis can be conducted on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, the data can be used to give a real-time measure that provides communities with more opportunity for monitoring the impact and effectiveness of prevention and intervention strategies.”

The report warned, however, that work in the area was still at an early stage. But Mr Gotz added: “While work in this area was still in its infancy and considerable uncertainties remain, the approach appears increasingly promising.”