Developing a method for site-specific wastewater analysis: Implications for prisons and other agencies with an interest in illicit drug use

In recent years techniques developed by environmental scientists to measure pharmacological pollutants in waterways have been adapted to analyse traces of illicit drugs. In Europe and North America samples from public sewerage systems have been studied and a wide variety of illicit drugs have been identified. The findings have been used to estimate the prevalence of illicit drug use in the general community. This article discusses the potential for site-specific wastewater analysis (SSWA), which concerns the study of samples from specific locations, such as prisons. It explains how this might be done and the potential benefits SSWA could provide for prison systems. The article also explores contributions that SSWA could make in the sectors of health, criminal justice and law enforcement and opens up discussion of the ethical and legal implications of this developing area of science.