Traces of illicit drugs in wastewater in England show spikes in usage during bank holiday weekends, heatwaves and sports events, while the Eurovision song contest ranks as one of the most drug-fuelled nights of the year, according to new research.
Tests at water treatment plants across the country found clear patterns in drug taking through the week and changing seasons, and revealed particularly high levels of cocaine and ketamine use compared with other European countries. The project, led by Imperial College London for the Home Office, analysed more than 1,700 water samples from 15 treatment sites in 2022.
Cocaine was detected at the highest average daily levels, followed by heroin, ketamine, amphetamine, MDMA and methamphetamine. The 15 sites detected the equivalent of about 12 tonnes of cocaine over the year. Ketamine use was higher at seven sites in England than at any other European site monitored over the same period.
Drug use spiked in line with England's World Cup football matches, summer heatwaves and bank holidays, including the Queen's platinum jubilee celebrations. The Eurovision song contest was an outlier linked to rises in cocaine, ketamine, MDMA and methamphetamine.
Professor Leon Barron, who leads the team at Imperial's Environmental Research Group, said the findings can help emergency services prepare for more overdoses and drug-related incidents. “This really tells you what to focus on,” he said. The work also showed the substantial impact of drug seizures: in March 2022, authorities impounded 3.7 tonnes of cocaine at Southampton docks, severely denting consumption in three cities for a month.
A government spokesperson said: “Our crackdown on drugs is having a real impact. We’ve strengthened our border security to tackle the criminal gangs putting lives at risk.”
