The UJI participates in the European review of research on illicit drugs in wastewater

Members of the University Institute of Pesticides and Water (IUPA) from the Universitat Jaume I have participated in the periodic review of theestimated consumption of illicit drugs in Europe through the analysis of wastewater. The report published by the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) includes the contributions of the researchers Félix Hernández, Emma Gracia and Lubertus Bijlsma.

Hernández and Bijlsma address the progress made in recent years to improve the approach known as "wastewater-based epidemiology” (WBE), with the aim of estimating the use of illicit drugs in different European cities.

"We greatly value the creation of the SCORE European network, to which we belong, which coordinates the comparative studies carried out in European cities since 2011", states Félix Hernández. In this issue, in addition to the analytical part of determining drug concentrations in urban wastewater, "the collaboration of different experts is necessary, such as epidemiology, drug toxicology or wastewater engineering”, adds Hernández.

"Our main goal now is to reduce uncertainties in the analytical part, which is our specialty, and advance in new opportunities for research in the field of wastewater epidemiology", states Lubertus Bijlsma.

The WBE approach emerged as an interesting initiative a few years ago, according to the researchers at the University Institute of Pesticides and Waters, and "it is becoming a very powerful tool for measuring real-time the use of frequently consumed drugs, such as cocaine, cannabis or amphetamines and their derivatives, as is the case of ecstasy".

Bijlsma and Hernández explain that they are currently investigating the use of new synthetic drugs –synthetic cannabinoids, cathinones, etc.– in a European project in which they are participating. The Mario Negri Institute in Milan leads this project, which has already reached to detect some of these new drugs in wastewater, such as MDPV or “cannibal drug”, and mephedrone, despite its lower consumption. "Wastewater are an inexhaustible source of information about people’s consumption habits, not only in terms of drugs, but also in terms of medicines, tobacco and coffee, and they even may enable to detect markers of some diseases. WBE's future is very encouraging in this regard”, the scientists conclude.

The publication "Illicit drugs in wastewater: wastewater-based advances in drug epidemiology" can be downloaded from this link:
http://www.emcdda.europa.eu/news/2016/emcdda-presents-latest-advances-wastewater-analysis