Posted on Jul 19, 2021
Why fish are becoming addicted to illegal drugs
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Around 269 million people worldwide use drugs each year. Often forgotten in this story is a problem of basic biology. What goes in must come out. Sewers are inundated with drugs that are excreted from the body, along with the broken down chemical components that have similar effects to the drugs themselves.
Sewage treatment plants don’t filter these things out – they were never designed for it. A lot of sewage also finds its way into rivers and coastal waters untreated. Once in the environment, drugs and their byproducts can affect wildlife. In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers in the Czech Republic investigated how methamphetamine – a stimulant with a growing number of users worldwide – might be affecting wild brown trout.
They examined whether concentrations of methamphetamine and one of its byproducts, amphetamine, which were estimated from other studies that have measured illicit drug concentrations in waterways, could be detected in the brains of brown trout. They also looked at whether these concentrations were enough to cause the animals to become addicted.
The trout were exposed to the drug in large tanks over eight weeks and then put into withdrawal, going "cold turkey" in drug-free tanks for 10 days. During that time, the researchers tested the fish's preference for fresh water or water containing methamphetamine and compared this with the responses of fish that had never been exposed to the drug.
Sewage treatment plants don’t filter these things out – they were never designed for it. A lot of sewage also finds its way into rivers and coastal waters untreated. Once in the environment, drugs and their byproducts can affect wildlife. In a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Biology, researchers in the Czech Republic investigated how methamphetamine – a stimulant with a growing number of users worldwide – might be affecting wild brown trout.
They examined whether concentrations of methamphetamine and one of its byproducts, amphetamine, which were estimated from other studies that have measured illicit drug concentrations in waterways, could be detected in the brains of brown trout. They also looked at whether these concentrations were enough to cause the animals to become addicted.
The trout were exposed to the drug in large tanks over eight weeks and then put into withdrawal, going "cold turkey" in drug-free tanks for 10 days. During that time, the researchers tested the fish's preference for fresh water or water containing methamphetamine and compared this with the responses of fish that had never been exposed to the drug.
Why fish are becoming addicted to illegal drugs
Posted from bbc.com
Posted 3 y ago
Responses: 4
Posted 3 y ago
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel solid read/share my friend. Thanks for sharing!
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CPT Shonna Ingram
3 y
After my army time and the cutbacks of the early 90's I became a high school Biology teacher. I can recall way back in the 70-80's reading about frogs with multiple appendages and fish with estrogen issues from women's birth control pills that got into our waterways. Seems the science community has known about this for decades but local, state and government agencies will not or WON'T deal with it. Now we are going to have to face reality. What we put on our land and in our food sources, and in our bodies will come back to bite us... One way or another.
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Posted 3 y ago
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel my additional question would be in regards to human consumption of these addicted fish...could eating fish addicted to drugs cause addiction in humans?
Very Interesting Information!
Very Interesting Information!
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SGT Mary G.
3 y
SPC Nancy Greene - I wondered about that too. It seems so irresponsible for the EPA to not establish minimums and require water utilities to monitor and filter out damaging illicit drugs and pharmaceutical. According to a friend who is a chemist at a water utility theirs does some voluntary monitoring not required by EPA, but I don't think it is for drugs.
Notice the "caged fish downstream of some water treatment plants"? Municipal water utility treatment plants that do not filter out any of the illicit drugs and pharmaceutical, are also downstream.<sigh>
Notice the "caged fish downstream of some water treatment plants"? Municipal water utility treatment plants that do not filter out any of the illicit drugs and pharmaceutical, are also downstream.<sigh>
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SPC Nancy Greene
3 y
SGT Mary G. it’s ‘scary’ to think what fish and water is actually contaminated with!SGT Mary G.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
3 y
Cpl Vic Burk SGT Mary G. SPC Nancy Greene We Already Know about How Heavy Metals like Mercury get into Fish and then into Us. Why Mercury is So Regulated Now. The Damage done to Generations with Mercury Poisoning. We'll see how Long before they address this Problem of it is even possible at this Point.
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SPC Nancy Greene
3 y
PO1 William "Chip" Nagel it’s the first thing that came to mind when I read the article. The CPS investigator and Substance Abuse Counselor in me never quits! lol PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
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Posted 3 y ago
Wonder if you get a buzz when you fry up one of those. (:
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