Sewer samples reveal heroin, cannabis are most-used drugs in Istanbul

Mühdan Sağlam - Günsu Durak / DUVAR

Heroin and cannabis were revealed to be the most-used substances in Istanbul in analyses conducted by a group of researchers from the Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Forensic Science Institute.

Titled "Investigation of Temporal Illicit Drugs, Alcohol And Tobacco Trends in Istanbul City: Wastewater Analysis of 14 Treatment Plants," the study sampled 14 different wastewater management facilities in Istanbul every three months between March and December 2019. 

Cannabis was revealed to be the most-consumed drug in the city overall, although the suburban district of the EU-7 region on the study's map was the biggest consumer of the herb. 

Meanwhile, the districts of EU1, EU6 and EU9 were reported as the largest users of heroin. 

Heroin was the second most-used substance in the city, and an overwhelming 60 percent of patients seeking help for addiction recovery struggled with heroin addiction, the study reported. 

Istanbul was revealed to host the largest population of in-house addiction recovery patients with 22.5 percent of the national sum residing in the metropolitan city. 

Istanbul was also reported to be the second-largest consumer of heroin after New York, while the city ranked second below Barcelona for the total amount of substances consumed.

Meanwhile, an analysis of police data showed that Istanbul has become a hub of drug trafficking, with almost nine million tabs of MDMA being recovered in the city in 2019 alone, a number that tops the total for Europe as a whole.