PNews
Glandeuse Pinéale
WHILE sewage is not something you can set your watch by, it'll certainly tell you when the weekend has arrived.
Last year Yves Levi and colleagues at the University of Paris-South found that Parisian waste water was awash with cocaine and its metabolites on Friday and Saturday nights (Forensic Science International, DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.007). MDMA, the active compound in ecstasy pills, was also present, though at much lower levels.
But things are different down under. This week the same journal has published the results of a similar study by a team led by Chang Chen at the University of Adelaide. They report a quintupling of MDMA levels and a 30 per cent rise in methamphetamine use in Adelaide at the weekend compared with midweek levels (DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.01.037). Cocaine maintained third place all week.
A UN report published in 2009 did not find such a big geographical disparity in cocaine use, Chen says. The report estimated that levels of cocaine use were similar in Europe and Australia, but Chen says the waste-water analysis suggests the drug is 30 times more prevalent in Europe.
Both teams hope their studies will inform campaigns against drug abuse.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... laide.html
Last year Yves Levi and colleagues at the University of Paris-South found that Parisian waste water was awash with cocaine and its metabolites on Friday and Saturday nights (Forensic Science International, DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2010.04.007). MDMA, the active compound in ecstasy pills, was also present, though at much lower levels.
But things are different down under. This week the same journal has published the results of a similar study by a team led by Chang Chen at the University of Adelaide. They report a quintupling of MDMA levels and a 30 per cent rise in methamphetamine use in Adelaide at the weekend compared with midweek levels (DOI: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2011.01.037). Cocaine maintained third place all week.
A UN report published in 2009 did not find such a big geographical disparity in cocaine use, Chen says. The report estimated that levels of cocaine use were similar in Europe and Australia, but Chen says the waste-water analysis suggests the drug is 30 times more prevalent in Europe.
Both teams hope their studies will inform campaigns against drug abuse.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg2 ... laide.html