Sewage Doesn't Lie

**Lemur** · 08-23-2007, 03:51

Finally, a reliable method for checking a community's real drug use.

Public health officials may soon be able to flush out more accurate estimates on illegal drug use in communities across the country thanks to screening test described here today at the 234th national meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society. The test doesn’t screen people, it seeks out evidence of illicit drug abuse in drug residues and metabolites excreted in urine and flushed toward municipal sewage treatment plants. ...

Preliminary tests conducted in 10 U.S. cities show the method can simultaneously quantify methamphetamine and metabolites of cocaine and marijuana and legal drugs such as methadone, oxycodone, and ephedrine, according to Aurea Chiaia, a graduate student who is working to refine the process and described details at the ACS meeting.

“Because our method can provide data in real time, we anticipate it might be used to help law officials undertaking surveillance to make intervention or prevention decisions or to decide where to allocate resources,” Chiaia says.

This seems like the best of all solutions; no invasion of privacy, since there's no way to track the sewage back to an individual residence. Certainly, I would worry if law enforcement wanted to monitor homes on a one-by-one basis ... hmm, there is a potential for abuse.

Still, seems a lot more reliable than surveys. What do the Orgahs think?

-edit-

I see both Townhall and Slashdot have picked this story up.

**Crazed Rabbit** · 08-23-2007, 04:13

Hmm - how long before they test the individual pipes leading from your house? Just do it on the part that isn't on your property, and there's naught you can do. Heck, just put a sensor that checks every house's sewage every now and again and send the SWAT team out anytime one picks up drugs.

Absurd, you say? Perhaps as absurd as sending police with military weapons to arrest a suspected bookie.

CR

**Uesugi Kenshin** · 08-23-2007, 04:15

If it were to be limited to monitoring the sewage plants and not put into any use anywhere else I don't see how it would be a problem, unless someone had their own personal sewage plant anyway. But I bet they'll work to expand that sooner or later, more likely sooner than later.

**Papewaio** · 08-23-2007, 04:33

If the water is getting recycled you definitely would want to know it if it getting additives.

Why not put a sensor at every connection point from home to the sewers?

It would be as predatory as reading every email...

**Gregoshi** · 08-23-2007, 06:14

We could have the neighborhood watch monitor the sewer pipes. The Citizen's Potty Patrol comes to your town - if you give a crap, they'll take your crap. Flush tainted pee and urine trouble...

**Peasant Phill** · 08-23-2007, 07:35

Aren't we getting ahead of ourselves here? I think that a system that monitors every house in say a city would be to expensive for the benefits it would provide. Think of the costs of the hardware, the placement, the maintainance, the monitoring, ...
And what are the benefits? The government could bust some people who are drugging themselves in their own home. I think that when this system would be placed a lot of people would start using an out house again.

**Tribesman** · 08-23-2007, 07:36

Hmm - how long before they test the individual pipes leading from your house? Just do it on the part that isn't on your property, and there's naught you can do. Heck, just put a sensor that checks every house's sewage every now and again and send the SWAT team out anytime one picks up drugs.

If you are not breaking the law you have nothing to fear .

Absurd, you say? Perhaps as absurd as sending police with military weapons to arrest a suspected bookie.

Hold on , thats guns that is , you like guns

Oh but its people having bigger guns in case the people they are after have guns .
I thought you said that wouldn't happen