Researchers from the Norwegian Centre for Addiction Research (SERAF) at the University of Oslo in collaboration with the Norwegian Centre for Water Research (NIVA), have studied the use of illicit drugs in particular ecstasy (MDMA) and amphetamine in 42 European cities, looking at the amount of drugs detected in the wastewater.
Both ecstasy and amphetamine have shown patterns throughout the week, such as the weekend peak and the timing of such a peak. Ecstasy compared to amphetamine showed a more pronounced weekend high, indicating that the drug might be preferred during night-life settings.
In Europe, the level of ecstasy detected from the wastewater analysis was higher in north-west, while higher level of amphetamine were detected in the northern part.
Researchers have shown however concerns about the increase of the level of the drugs during the weekend. This pattern was dominant in northern Europe, where pronounced weekend peak were observed.