Wastewater analysis: heroin is popular in Pilsen, cocaine in Prague
Pilsen has the highest heroin consumption, cocaine “squirts” in Prague, ecstasy in Brno, meth in Ústí nad Labem and Ostrava. This results from measuring the presence of drugs in wastewater by water managers in ten cities in the Czech Republic.
The project was commissioned and subsidized by the Ministry of the Interior and is part of the Security Research Program of the Czech Republic. The analytical procedures were taken over by a research institute from Italy and Spain. The research monitors three Czech cities, namely Prague, Pilsen and Ústí nad Labem and seven Moravian cities – Brno, Ostrava, Frýdek-Místek, Karviná, Havířov, Český Těšín and Orlová.
“It simply came to our notice then. Another is Ústí nad Labem, but Pilsen has a completely different character. If it is a transport route due to the proximity of the German border. But we measure use, that is, what those people excrete in their urine, “said the head of the Ostrava public benefit company Accendo-Center for Science and Research, Lubor Hruška. So there are a lot of people using heroin in the city, but they don’t have to be citizens of Pilsen.
In Pilsen, according to Hruška, they identified 7,500 doses of heroin per week and the population doubled as Ostrava. ‘Has’ only six thousand doses. “Even greater Brno is comparable to Pilsen,” said Hruška. Other monitored drugs have below-average values in Pilsen in relation to other cities.
In addition to heroin, the research team also monitors meth, cocaine, amphetamine and ecstasy. “We are further analyzing marijuana as an input drug for which we could prove an effect on young people,” said Hruška. Pervitin is in Pilsen far less, most in Ústí nad Labem and Ostrava. There is a very strong cocaine in Prague, and amphetamine in Ústí nad Labem in addition to meth. Brno leads in ecstasy, ie a dance drug, and Prague is also significant.
“More expensive drugs such as heroin and cocaine are, of course, more common in economically strong cities such as Pilsen and Prague. Cheaper than meth in Ústí and northern Moravia, “said Hruška. According to him, however, another reason in Pilsen may also be the increased consumption of heroin by Roma, “who are addicted to it, and also by foreign visitors to Pilsen. However, sociologists do not yet have an exact explanation.