Cities drug tested using just a teaspoon of sewer water

Researchers have managed to test an entire community for drug use using only a teaspoon of sewer water, AP reports.

The test would not be used to finger any single person as a drug user, but it would help federal law enforcers and other investigators track the spread of dangerous drugs, such as methamphetamines, across the country.

Oregon State University scientists tested 10 unidentified American cities for remnants of drugs, both legal and illegal, from wastewater streams. They were able to show that they could get a good snapshot of what people are taking.

"It's a community urinalysis," said Caleb Banta-Green, a University of Washington drug abuse researcher who was part of the university team. The scientists presented their results Tuesday at a meeting of the American Chemical Society in Massachusetts.

Two federal agencies have taken samples from US waterways to see if drug testing a whole city is possible, but they have not gotten as far as the Oregon researchers.

One early result of the new study showed big differences in methamphetamine use city to city. One urban area with a gambling industry had meth levels more than five times higher than other cities. Yet methamphetamine levels were virtually nonexistent in some smaller Midwestern locales, said lead researcher Jennifer Field, a professor of environmental toxicology at Oregon State.

The ingredient Americans consume and excrete the most was caffeine, Field said.