A study has found that river fish are in danger of methamphetamine addiction where the substance has been discovered seeping into rivers.
The Czech University of Life Sciences study looked at the effects of the drug on fish from streams in the Czech Republic, after some were found to contain relatively high levels.
Report author Pavel Horky explained to the New Scientist: “Where methamphetamine users are, there is also methamphetamine pollution.” Human users excrete the drug but water treatment plants aren’t set up to deal with it.
The study looked at the fishes’ preferences for water with and without methamphetamine concentrations and found those with previous exposure to methamphetamine preferred the water with the higher concentrations.
They were also less active leading to concerns that “drug-reward cravings by fish could overshadow natural rewards like foraging or mating.”
