A recenty study by the CSIC institute, of the air in Madrid and Barcelona using the latest technology, revealed traces of drugs.

Scientists found cocaine to be the predominant drug in the air of both Barcelona and Madrid, with 29 to 850 picogrammes (one trllionth of a gramme) per cubic meter of air.

“Even if we lived 1000 years we would not consume the equivalent of a dose of cocaine through the air,’’ said Miren Lopez de Alda, one of the scientists involved in the study.

The CSIC study also found heroin in “detectable levels” in the air samples in Madrid, but not in Barcelona. The study also revealed how the traces of drugs in the air reached higher levels during the weekend “suggesting higher consumption during this time”.

The use of cocaine in Spain is widespread with United Nations data showing that three percent of all the country’s adults use cocaine recreationally, a world record. Spain is also the main transit point for drug trafficking from both South and Central America as well as Africa.

Further information on CSIC. Image by 79286287@N00 under Creative Commons.