Fish becoming 'addicted' to methamphetamine due to waters polluted with human drugs

Human medication flowing into our water system is making birds depressed and fish addicted to meth.

Animals are becoming radically changed by human drugs, with addiction, anxiety and low libido just some of the symptoms spotted in a range of species, a new study has found.

Researchers have found that a range of substances are contaminating our ecosystem, with scientists warning that modern pharmaceutical and illegal drug pollution is becoming a growing threat to our wildlife.

The study showed brown trout analysed were showing signs of being addicted to methamphetamines, while female starlings who had antidepressants in their system were found to be becoming less attractive to potential mates, and male birds behaving more aggressively and singing less to entice them than undosed counterparts.

Fish populations are also suffering with the contraceptive pill causing sex reversal in some species, leading to lower levels of mating.

Drugs such as caffeine, anti-anxiety medications, antidepressants and antipsychotics were all found to be entering ecosystems, as were illegal drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine.

Michael Bertram, an assistant professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences who took part in the study, said: “Active pharmaceutical ingredients are found in waterways all around the globe, including in organisms that we might eat.”

The findings were published on Wednesday in the journal Nature Sustainability.

Prof Bertram continued: “There are a few pathways for these chemicals to enter the environment. If there is inadequate treatment of pharmaceuticals that are being released during drug production, that’s one way. Another is during use. When a human takes a pill, not all of that drug is broken down inside our bodies and so, through our excrement, the effluent is released directly into the environment.”

Another author of the study, Gorka Orive, a scientist and professor of pharmacy based at the University of the Basque Country, added: “Greener drugs reduce the potential for pollution throughout the entire cycle.

“Drugs must be designed to not only be effective and safe, but also to have a reduced potential risk to wildlife and human health when present in the environment.”