The concentration of cocaine in London’s sewers may have fallen by almost a third over three years, new research has suggested. Wastewater tests taken over a week in April 2019, published by the EU’s drugs agency on Thursday, appeared to indicate a drop in consumption in the capital.
The study’s lead researcher, Dr Leon Barron, from King’s College
London, said the cocaine market in the city may have begun to be saturated. However, he noted tests at other times of the year could have delivered different results and urged caution in extrapolating his findings.
“More regular monitoring in London and ideally across several locations is required to build up a more accurate national picture before we can conclude that cocaine use has actually dropped in the UK,” Barron said.
“It remains a major problem in London and wastewater analysis provides a unique way to help understand illicit drug use trends on a population level in near-real time.”
But while cocaine is far more prevalent in Antwerp and Amsterdam, according to the European monitoring centre for drugs and drug addiction data, it remains widespread in London.
