# Drugs in the sewage system
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780
**Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports
**Created:** [September 2, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780 "2007-09-02T03:59:38Z")
**Posts on this page:** 10
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2007, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/1 "2007-09-02T03:59:38Z")
I’ve read that now law enforcement people are testing sewage water to find out (generally) where people are using illegal drugs and which drugs they are. I first heard of it being done in Italy, but now they’re doing it in many places in the U.S. I don’t have a cite now, but will try to get one soon…
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### Author:  [@Oregon\_sunshine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oregon_sunshine)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2007, 5:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/2 "2007-09-02T05:05:39Z")
[Here](http://www.sptimes.com/2007/08/22/Worldandnation/Sewers_yield_city_dru.shtml) 's a cite.
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2007, 6:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/3 "2007-09-02T06:32:39Z")
That would explain why the drain pipe from Jerry Garcia’s house has a street value of $10,000,000 !!! 😃
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### Author:  [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)
#### Post date: [September 2, 2007, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/4 "2007-09-02T12:54:40Z")
**guizot** , it’s customary when starting a thread about a column, to provide a link to that column. Yeah, it’s on the front page now, but in a few days it will sink into the depths of the Archives. So, to save search time, the link is helpful to others:
[People take medications. They excrete them. What happens next? Could it affect the water supply?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070831.html)
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### Author:  [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2007, 4:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/5 "2007-09-03T04:54:33Z")
I noticed that Cecil misspelled “minuscule” in the first paragraph.
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### Author:  [@rayh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rayh)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2007, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/6 "2007-09-03T16:07:52Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
I noticed that Cecil misspelled “minuscule” in the first paragraph.
[/QUOTE]
Maybe.
> [@Dictionary.com](#):
>
> —Usage note Minuscule, from Latin minus meaning “less,” has frequently come to be spelled miniscule, perhaps under the influence of the prefix mini- in the sense “of a small size.” Although this newer spelling is criticized by many, it occurs with such frequency in edited writing that some consider it a variant spelling rather than a misspelling.
> [Dictionary.com](http://Dictionary.com) Unabridged (v 1.1)
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### Author:  [@RiverRunner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RiverRunner)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2007, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/7 "2007-09-04T14:10:29Z")
[QUOTE=Siam Sam]
I noticed that Cecil misspelled “minuscule” in the first paragraph.
[/QUOTE]
Yeah, that led me to ask [this in GQ](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=434889&highlight=minuscule)
RR
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### Author:  [@xizor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xizor)
#### Post date: [September 4, 2007, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/8 "2007-09-04T21:10:07Z")
Will this put an end to homeopathy then? Since these are the same levels as homeopathic drugs claim, there is no need to buy them. Now all we have to do is drink the municipal water supply and we are golden.
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### Author:  [@9339jamie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/9339jamie)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 3:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/9 "2007-09-06T15:14:13Z")
endocrine disruptors are one to look at. cheers jamie
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### Author:  [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)
#### Post date: [September 6, 2007, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/drugs-in-the-sewage-system/417780/10 "2007-09-06T22:38:32Z")
[QUOTE=C K Dexter Haven]
**guizot** , it’s customary when starting a thread about a column, to provide a link to that column. Yeah, it’s on the front page now, but in a few days it will sink into the depths of the Archives. So, to save search time, the link is helpful to others:
[People take medications. They excrete them. What happens next? Could it affect the water supply?](http://www.straightdope.com/columns/070831.html)
[/QUOTE]
Sorry! :smack: It completely slipped my mind. Thanks for posting the link.