Tests on sewage in an upscale Massachusetts ocean resort town have revealed unexpectedly high levels of cocaine — more than three times the national average.
Officials in the town of Nantucket, on Cape Cod’s eponymous island, began testing its wastewater last summer to “monitor high-risk substances and opioids in the community.”
Located southeast of Martha’s Vineyard in the Atlantic Ocean, this isolated island is an affluent and popular summer resort complete with sandy beaches, quaint cedar-shingle buildings and cobblestone streets, and classic New England lighthouses and seafood.
It is known as a favorite of celebrities and prominent politicians including former US Presidents John F Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Joe Biden.
Initial results in September showed the presence of cocaine already 50% higher than found nationally, while October and December spiked levels on the island to “dangerous amounts,” the city’s Department of Health and Human Services said.
“Nantucket, like communities across the nation, is not immune to the growing public health crisis of substance abuse and overdose,” said a statement on the town and Nantucket County’s official website. It said the urban population quadruples during the summer, making it a “particular challenge to manage behavioral health risks”.
The results also reached a peak of 2,948.70 nanograms per liter on October 14 last year, nearly three times the US average of 900-1,000 ng/L and higher than the regional average.
Nantucket’s figure reached 2,800 ng/L again three days before Christmas.
“The data can help identify patterns, such as persistent increases in specific drug markers, that can guide timely, evidence-based interventions. If a prolonged spike in stimulant use is observed, the city can coordinate educational outreach, screening efforts or peer-led recovery support tailored to that substance,” the statement said.
At the same time, fentanyl and methamphetamine levels in the test were well below regional and national averages, a clear indication that cocaine remains the recreational drug of choice in a town known as the fashionable playground of the rich and famous.
As well as human consumption of cocaine, the presence of its primary metabolite, benzoylecgonine (BZE), has been measured in samples, suggesting authorities have dumped quantities of the drug into water infrastructure.
“Some of the cocaine that enters the sewage system does not come from normal human metabolism,” the report said.
“This pattern is often seen when unused cocaine is discarded or discarded, creating a spike in cocaine that is not reflected in BZE.”
Roque Miramontes, the city’s public health director, said in a local media interview that more tests are needed to help officials plot a counter strategy.
“For high-risk substances and opioids, a sustained increase over several weeks may be a strong indicator for intervention. We are now sharing the data to begin equipping community behavioral health partners with actionable information,” he told the Nantucket Inquirer.
