Drug monitoring based on wastewater from Austria shows: cocaine and cannabis are the most commonly used drugs in this country. Differences in stimulants and synthetic drugs are evident between the west and east of the country. “With the gradual relaxation of corona measures in 2022, the consumption of alcohol and drugs in the population has increased again”, explains chemist Herbert Oberacher.
AUSTRIA. At Med Uni Innsbruck, data on infections, drug, alcohol and cigarette consumption are collected annually as part of the European SCORE network. Wastewater monitoring has been used for years to identify trends in drug use across national borders. Compared to other European cities, Austria is in the middle.
More and more sewage treatment plants are participating
Last year, wastewater from 17 domestic sewage treatment plants and one more in South Tyrol were examined. All federal states were represented except Burgenland. “Austria therefore provides fifteen percent of all European datasets. What’s new for 2022 is that data from Vienna, Salzburg and Upper Austria have been included in the analysis for the first time. Overall, the number of sewage treatment plants that supplied samples to our laboratory increased compared to the previous year almost doubled, which further increases the informational value of the picture of the situation”, says Oberacher – satisfied with the improvement of the data situation.
Through extensive data collection, the drug consumption of 3.5 million people in Austria and South Tyrol can be deduced. Samples were collected from the entrance to the sewage treatment plants every day for one week. These were examined for drugs and their metabolites: tetrahydrocannabinol (active ingredient in cannabis), cocaine, amphetamine (active ingredient in Speed), 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-methylamphetamine (MDMA, active ingredient in ecstasy) and methamphetamine (active ingredient in active ecstasy). methamphetamine), alcohol and nicotine.
Drug use increased after corona pandemic
Per capita consumption of alcohol and nicotine is relatively similar across Austria. The picture is not so uniform when you look at the data on illegal substances. In almost all regions examined, cannabis clearly dominates. Significantly more of this is smoked and consumed in cities than in rural areas. Among the stimulants, cocaine clearly stands out. West and South Tyrol consume more per capita. According to the Kufstein wastewater data, cocaine consumption is highest there. When it comes to the speed of synthetic drugs and methamphetamine, East Austrians are clearly ahead, especially in Vienna and Wiener Neustadt. This distribution of synthetic drugs and stimulants in the West and East is also noticeable in other EU countries.
With the lifting of corona protection measures, illegal substances should also have become more accessible again. “Compared to 2021, increases in the consumption of alcohol, cocaine, MDMA and methamphetamine were observed, which are due in part to the expiration of the official measures to contain the COVID-19 pandemic”, emphasizes Oberacher.
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