How Much Cocaine Is Floating in Nantucket’s Sewage? A New Test Could Have the Answers

Nantucket's Health Department is about to launch new testing of the island's sewage that will help health officials determine the extent of hard drugs present in relation to Nantucket's use of illicit substances. 

Jerico Mele, the town's human services director, explained to the Nantucket Current that the testing will provide the town with a baseline measurement to help officials identify a standard usage of the drugs. This baseline assessment will help town officials determine whether certain measures will change the rate that these substances are being consumed. 

“That can give us a scorecard on the efforts and reducing usage. With opiate data, we can confirm our expectations about usage going up around certain times of year, like holidays, or if there are time periods when drug use is heavy,” Mele said. “We can then communicate to treatment centers to reach out to patients and increase outreach. It's a tool for communicating public safety, to be aware and be expecting.”

Nantucket continues to test its sewage at the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Facility for COVID-19 with funding from a state program. The drug testing of sewage will supplement this established program which has been running since early 2020, said Nantucket Sewer Department head David Gray.

According to Gray, the town sends two samples of sewage to a company called Biobot. The firm tests the samples for COVID-19. Now, the samples will also be analyzed for the presence of hard drugs, such as cocaine, fentanyl, methamphetamine, nicotine, and opiates, along with diseases such as influenza and RSV.

Mele said he does not anticipate the town will publicize the results. The data will be used for internal analysis and outreach to community partners, he said.

The drug testing program is set to begin in June.