this post was submitted on 28 Apr 2026
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Is the Swedish study that tested cocaine in salmon and found the cocaine fish swam further than sober fish but both swam less than the salmon who ingested metabolized cocaine surprisingly swam the furthest. This is important because it shows human drug use is screwing up nature. The metabolized cocaine is benzoylecgonine found in human urine and it is being absorbed by the fish. It's super interesting to see how even on dry land humans can change the sea without trying.
Are people really using enough cocaine that its impact on the ocean is significant? Like Iโm guessing a lot of people drive a car, which Iโm guessing is a lot worse than cocaine.
Benzoylecgonine is very stable. It can in fact be analyzed in tap water in communities that recycle waste water to determine how much cocaine is being used.
Indeed, but it is a fair question to ask: what is the actual concentration in the ocean? I did not read the study, possibly they used a concentration similar to the one encountered in oceans.
Seeing as this is about salmon, it's probably more relevant to ask about the concentration in rivers. A river downstream from a reasonable size city likely has a not insignificant level. I assume the ocean is effectively nothing though.