Czechs have the most meth in waste in Europe. Prague lagged behind Ostrava
pervitin in The amount of Czech wastewater is by far the highest in Europe. This is at least according to a study by the European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), which analyzed wastewater in around 80 cities in 25 European countries. In the case of meth, Czech cities even occupied the first five places in 2021. According to the national anti-drug coordinator Jindřich Vobořil, the findings are not surprising, because meth is a traditional drug in the Czech Republic, unlike in other countries.
“It simply came to our notice then. While most of Europe has heroin as its main drug, in our country it is traditionally meth, also thanks to domestic production, “Vobořil told ČTK. He added that in the number of so-called problem users, ie dependent users, the Czechia is below the European average. The coordinator noted that heroin is more expensive than meth, it is used several times a day, the risk of crime and infectious diseases is higher. “But Pervitin is no piglet. It is a very risky substance. One does not sleep, loses weight, has no appetite and loses energy. He is then unable to study or work, “the coordinator added.
The study found traces of cocaine, cannabis, meth or ecstasy in the wastewater. Pervitin, cocaine and ecstasy are stimulant drugs. Heroin is a suppressive opiate.
The highest amount of methamphetamine (active substance in meth, otherwise also crystal) was found in Ostrava (684 milligrams per 1000 people per day), followed by Brno (546 mg), České Budějovice (507 mg), Karlovy Vary (339 mg) and Prague ( 329 mg). Measurements did not take place in other Czech cities.
Latvian Riga (226 mg), Bratislava (187 mg) and Piešťany (151 mg) finished behind the cities in the Czech Republic.
Some of the Czech cities still made it into the top five in the number of cannabis remains found in wastewater, when Karlovy Vary (123 mg) finished in fifth place in this category. Clearly the first was Barcelona (456 mg) followed by Amsterdam (158 mg).
Most traces of cocaine were again found in Antwerp, Belgium (1582 mg), Switzerland’s St. Gallen (1337 mg) and Amsterdam (887 mg). Of the Czech cities, Prague was the highest (240 mg).
Czech cities were not in the first place, not even in terms of amphetamine and ecstasy (MDMA). The first Dutch Eindhoven (805 mg) was the first amphetamine and the Czech cities Ostrava (77 mg) were in 20th place. Ecstasy was the highest in Amsterdam (125 mg), Prague (27 mg) was the first Czech city in 17th place.