Testing on Dublin’s water supply suggests the city has one of the highest level of drug use in Europe.
Samples of waste water were tested every day for two months across 128 European cities as part of a project coordinated by the European Union Drugs Agency (EUDA).
Each city tested water for traces of six narcotics: Cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy and ketamine.
The results revealed that Dublin had one of the highest levels of cocaine, ecstasy and ketamine in 2024.
Only Belgium and the Netherlands had consistently higher levels of the same drugs. Dublin’s cocaine levels were on a similar level to Geneva.
The data shows that traces of cocaine in Dublin doubled at the weekend. Levels of ecstasy and ketamine quadrupled.
Europe-wide, the EUDA says that it found levels of cocaine, ecstasy and amphetamine were notably up on the previously year.
“Wastewater monitoring offers invaluable insights into the dynamics of drug use and supply, and is a powerful tool for boosting preparedness against emerging challenges”, said the EUDA’s director, Alexis Goosdeel.
“This year’s study, covering a record 128 European cities, paints a clear picture of a drugs problem that is both widespread and complex, with all six substances detected in nearly every location.
As the potential of wastewater analysis grows, we look forward to further developing our work in this area to better inform public health and policy responses.”
The EUDA says waste water analysis is a “rapidly developing scientific discipline with the potential for monitoring real-time data on geographical and temporal trends in illicit drug use”.
“It involves sampling a source of wastewater, such as a sewage influent to a wastewater treatment plant. This allows scientists to estimate the quantity of drugs consumed by a community by measuring the levels of illicit drugs and their metabolites excreted in urine.”