Estimating Community Drug Abuse by Wastewater Analysis

Abstract Background: The social and medical problems of drug abuse are a matter of increasing global concern. To tackle drug abuse in changing scenarios, international drug agencies need fresh methods to monitor trends and patterns of illicit drug consumption. Objective: We tested a sewage epidemiology approach, using levels of excreted drug residues in wastewater, to monitor collective use of the major drugs of abuse in near real time. Methods: Selected drug target residues derived from use of cocaine, opiates, cannabis,