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A EUROPE-WIDE research programme that measures drug use based on the analysis of wastewater has thrown up some interesting discoveries.
The analysis was carried out on wastewater from 50 cities each over the course of March of this year.
The cities ranged from as northwestern as Reykjavik in Iceland to as southeastern as Nicosia in Cyprus. No Irish cities were monitored as part of the study.
It found a wide variance in the different types of drugs being used in different parts of Europe and observed the dramatic spike in the use of some drugs that occurs at the weekend.
The wastewater analysis was carried out the main EU drugs agency and revealed a number of interesting trends:
Weekend
The study was conducted over the course of March 2016 and also monitored the average daily drug use over each of the seven days of the week. The results found that the use of cocaine and MDMA rose sharply at weekends in most cities, while methamphetamine use was more evenly distributed throughout the week.
Below is the daily trend of the five cities that had the greatest concentration of cocaine or cocaine metabolites in the sewer system.
The cities are Antwerp in green, Zurich in black, Barcelona in blue, London in orange, and Monlina de Sugara (Spain) in turquoise.
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leglaise it tax it and control it and watch the country better it’s self from the extra revenue from it look at the likes of America and put 1 step forward not 10 steps back as normal
@Mick Mccabe: “look at the likes of America” with rose tinted glasses?
@Mick Mccabe: Good idea and use the money to match the plant pots in Grafton Street that are in north Dublin.
@Mick Mccabe: Amen.
@Mick Mccabe: is that not just for medicinal use in the US?
@GerryCummins: “The non-medical use of cannabis is legal in 9 states (Alaska, California, Colorado, Maine, Massachusetts, Nevada, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington) plus the District of Columbia, and decriminalized in another 13 states plus the U.S. Virgin Islands.”
@Mick Mccabe: if they legalized big pharma industry would collapse that is what it is all about money..
Ive never seen a stoner attack anything at 3 am other than a burger, yet perfectly legal to down a gut full of vodka n redbull and strut out the club like your connor mcgregor looking for trouble! Some logic
@Jonathan Whelan: seen plenty that couldnt string a sentence together though….you know wharra mean man..yeah man…
@GerryCummins: true enough, but they aint the ones clogging up A&E’s and urinating n vomiting after clubs in a town near you!
Once again, Gardaí resources being wasted on combatting something that should be legal, regulated, and taxed.
@Todd Hebert: also, were it legal these growhouses wouldn’t exist
@Todd Hebert:
The Gardai did the right thing to shut down this criminal enterprise run id imagine not by cheech and chong but by gangs. It should of course be legalised so Gardai can target heroin and coke dealers but the political will isnt there. The yanks got it made illegal originally and ironically they are now the ones legalising it.
Legalise the stuff for God’s sake.
Legalise it; refine it, tax it and build hospitals; schools and homes.
Junkies? It’s weed for crying out loud, should be legalized…
2.7 million……stop
I can smell it from here!, anyone out there with menopausal symptoms I would recommend giving it a go!….
I think cannabis should be legal for many medical conditions. The therapeutic window (dose of a drug between a medical effect and a toxic effect) of cannabis is very narrow, that’s why it is used with caution. Any therapeutic drugs – natural or synthetic need to be used with wisdom, not recreation, because all drugs have side effects.
@Ania_on_coffee: I take your point, but you must understand cannabis is lovely.
@Honeybadger197: We should legalize it to everyone because it’s lovely? LOL I’m sure it’s probably lovely yes
@Ania_on_coffee: An occasional bowl is a beautiful thing.
@Honeybadger197:
@Fake Avast: It’s illegal in Ukraine. But some people grow it in the countryside in their backgardens. As for Russia – i don’the know.
@ Ania
I think you are not correct. The difference between medical and toxic effect in cannabis is very wide.
Cannabis does not have a toxic effect on the body unless the dose is huge, More than you could physically take!
Excellent news.
Great
Can you imagine if the country was run by stoners?
Nothing would ever get done.
@nichalo
Yeah man that richard branson and steve jobs never got anything done right
@Niccolo Saccho:
I disagree. Although it’s an individual thing I guess. I tend to use pot mostly whilst doing activities. Not driving of course.
@Niccolo Saccho: totally agree. No rapes, no senseless domestic violence, no pissing puking on the streets.
What horror it would be to live in a country where no such thing would be done!
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