Technology deployed during the pandemic to test for Covid-19 in the country’s waste water is now being used to detect and analyse illegal drug use in Dublin at the request of the Health Service Executive (HSE). Scientists in UCD began testing wastewater for illegal narcotics about 18 months ago to determine the extent of their use in the population and to detect the presence of new designer drugs. The first results were published earlier this year in a study comparing crack cocaine use in 13 EU cities. The wastewater analysis showed the prevalence of crack use in Dublin is broadly in line with most other cities examined but significantly less than Amsterdam and Antwerp....