Estimation of illicit drug use in the main cities of Colombia by means of urban wastewater analysis

Abstract

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) relies on the principle that traces of compounds, which a population is exposed to or consume, are excreted unchanged or as metabolites in urine and/or feces, and ultimately end up in the sewer network. Measuring target metabolic residues i.e. biomarkers in raw urban wastewater allows identifying the exposure or use of substances of interest in a community. Up to date, the most popular application of WBE is the estimation of illicit drug use and studies have been made mainly across Europe, which has allowed estimating and comparing drug use in many European cities. However, until now a comprehensive study applying WBE on the most frequently consumed illicit drugs has not been performed in South American countries. In this work, we applied this approach to samples from Colombia, selecting two of the most populated cities: Bogotá and Medellin. Several biomarkers were selected to estimate drug use of cocaine, cannabis, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA (ecstasy), heroin and ketamine. Composite samples (24-h) were collected at the corresponding municipal wastewater treatment plants. Sample treatment was performed at location by applying solid-phase extraction (SPE). Before SPE, the samples were spiked with appropriate isotope labeled internal standards. In parallel, samples (spiked with the analytes under study at two concentration levels) were also processed for quality control. Analysis of influent wastewater was made by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, with triple quadrupole analyzer. Data shown in this paper reveal a high use of cocaine by the population of the selected Colombian cities, particularly from Medellin, while the use of other illicit drugs were low. The relevance of using quality control samples, particularly in collaborative studies, as those presented in this work, where research groups from different countries participate and where the samples had to be shipped overseas, is highlighted in this paper.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology of Cocaine in the Brazilian Federal District: Spatial Distribution, Weekly Variation and Sample Preservation Strategies

“…Mastroianni et al 59 carried out a five-year monitoring of illicit drugs in the region of Barcelona, Spain, and reveal an average cocaine use of 24 mg day -1 1000 inh 63 reported a cocaine daily consumption ranging from 619 ± 140 to 2420 ± 742 mg day -1 1000 inh -1 being among the highest reported in the literature, probably due to the fact that the region is part of the Caribbean hub of international illicit drug traffic. Cocaine consumption in the cities of Bogotá and Medellin, in Colombia, was investigated by Bijlsma et al, 64 which reported a weekly average of 742 and 3022 mg day -1 1000 inh -1 , respectively, using a correction factor of 3.59.…”

“…However, the authors could notice a relatively high consumption in a northern region of the country during the weekend (2434 mg day -1 1000 inh -1 ), being almost 60% higher than the consumption estimated during the weekdays as a result of a special event occurred during sampling period, as pointed out elsewhere. 63 Bijlsma et al 64 investigated the presence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in wastewater samples form the cities of Bogotá and Medellin, in Colombia, throughout a week and showed a slightly increase in benzoylecgonine loads in the weekend samples. According to the authors, Colombian consumers may use cocaine regularly and not more intensely during weekends.…”

Wastewater analysis for nicotine, cocaine, amphetamines, opioids and cannabis in New York City

“…Since then, the number of publications in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been increasing. WBE has been most popular in European countries [8][9][10][11][12][13], but its applications have been expanded to other parts of the world, such as Turkey [14,15], China [16], Colombia [17], South Africa [18], Cameroon [19] and Australia [20,21]. In fact, the European Union (European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, EMCDDA) and the Government of Australia conduct interdisciplinary wastewater drug monitoring programs, and publish official reports about the drug use in their geographical areas based on wastewater analysis [22,23].…”

Profiling cocaine residues and pyrolytic products in wastewater by mixed‐mode liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry

“…Estimating the consumption of illicit drugs by the analysis of wastewater (wastewater‐based epidemiology, WBE) is a well‐known approach currently applied in several countries . This methodology is used to better understand the drug phenomenon at global level by institutions such as the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission, and the New Zealand Police .…”