Richard Bade and Malcolm McLeod explain to LCGC International how chromatography detects drug trends in wastewater.
Drug and alcohol use is a major problem in Australia, both in terms of cost to society and impact on health. A recent national survey found that nearly half of Australians aged 14 and up have tried an illegal drug at some point in their lives. Sadly, over 1600 people died from drug-related causes in 2023 alone. On top of that,1 Australians spent an estimated $11.5 billion on drugs like cocaine, heroin, MDMA, and methamphetamine in just one year.1 Making things even more complicated, new synthetic drugs keep popping up that scientists know very little about, which makes them especially risky.
