There blows the neighborhood.
A test on sewage in wealthy Nantucket Island has discovered cocaine levels 50% higher than the US average, according to data published by local health officials.
Levels of cocaine in wastewater tested around the wealthy Massachusetts enclave measured over 1,5000 nanograms per liter (ng/L), compared to the national average of 1,000 ng/L, according to testing results on the town’s website.
The results, based on testing carried out over six weeks between Jun. 18 and Jul. 28, also detected traces of fentanyl, methamphetamine, and Xylazine, along with prescription opioids including codeine, morphine, and oxycodone.
Fentanyl and methamphetamine levels were lower than the national average and the average for the Northeast, results show.
Nantucket Island has long been known as a summer playground for the rich and famous.
Among its wealthy residents are Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, actor Ben Stiller and former Google CEO Eric Schmidt.
Experts say further testing will be carried out in the winter, when the island typically empties out of its rich and famous summer visitors.
“I think it’s interesting that cocaine was so high. And I was surprised fentanyl was so low, because fentanyl is in everything. I thought fentanyl would be higher,” Dr. Timothy Lepore, the founder of Addiction Solutions of Nantucket, told the Boston Globe.
“I’m interested to see in the depths of winter, when people with large amounts of disposable income have left the island,” he said.
Drug data from wastewater testing is still in its infancy, and results can vary widely, officials said.
“As this activity is still in its early stages, additional baseline data is needed to provide a clearer picture. For high-risk substances and opioids, a sustained increase over several weeks may be a stronger indicator for public health intervention,” Nantucket’s public health director, Roque Miramontes, told the Boston Globe.
The samples of sewage are collected from the Surfside Wastewater Treatment Facility, which serves about 70% of Nantucket Island’s roughly 14,000 residents.
Samples are then analyzed by Cambridge-based startup Biobot Analytics, which was founded at MIT.