Trace amounts of cocaine have been detected in Brazilian sharks, raising concerns about the impact on marine life.
While a rampaging cokehead great white would undoubtedly make for an excellent antagonist, the reality is slightly less exciting and far more alarming in the grand scheme of things. Cocaine makes its way into the ocean through several avenues, including release from inadequate sewage treatment facilities and stray packets dropped into the water by smugglers that then get bitten open by wildlife in length, and it feeds mostly on small fish and squid.
The results were shocking: Every single shark tested positive for cocaine, while 12 of the 13 had benzoylecgonine—a chemical produced when cocaine is filtered through the liver—in their systems. “Considering the psychotropic effects of drugs of abuse on vertebrates, behavioural changes may occur, which, although sub-lethal, could impact the species’ survival in ways that remain unexplored,” the researchers wrote.on drugs might seem like a nightmare scenario, the possible effects on humans of cocaine being ingested by the carnivorous fish is slightly more subtle.
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