Wastewater Analysis Shows Rise in Opioid, Sedative Use During Pandemic

August 24, 2021

(UPI) – Use of easily abused prescription opioid pain medications and sedatives designed to treat anxiety spiked during the first few months of the COVID-19, a study presented Monday during the fall meeting of the American Chemical Society found. The analysis of raw sewage produced by two towns in western Kentucky and northwest Tennessee detected increased levels of the opioid pain drug hydrocodone between March and June 2020, the researchers said.  (Read Full Article)