Posted by
Gabrielle Cusumano on Wednesday, November 22, 2006 11:03:13 AM
Rhinelanders take nine tons of cocaine per year
22 November 2006
Nuremberg, Germany (dpa) - Chemists studying faint traces of cocaine in river water have calculated that nine tons of the illicit drug is being taken annually among the 40 million people living in Europe's upper Rhine valley.
The samples were taken at Cologne, after the river and its tributaries had drained parts of Austria, Switzerland, France and Germany. Though the sewage is treated, small amounts of pollutants still reach the river.
Scientists at the Institute of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Research, Nuremberg, said Wednesday they looked for benzoylecgonine, a waste product or metabolite produced by the human body after people snort cocaine.
Fritz Soergel said scientists took similar samples in other European nations and in the United States, and concluded US per-capita use was highest, followed by that in Spain and Britain.
Germany's use was in the middle of the range and was estimated at 20 tons annually for about 80 million people. A similar study revealed last year that many residents of Italy's Po Valley were taking the drug.
DPA
http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=26&story_id=34540
© copyright 2006 Expatica Communications BV