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A team of scientists at the university studied wastewater that's entering into the river from nearby sewers during storms and found traces of the drug within 24 hours of the overflow, the Independent reports. Compared to other major cities, the level of cocaine entering London's water system — likely through users' urine — is much higher. "Increases in caffeine, cocaine and benzoylecgonine [a metabolite] were observed 24 hours after sewer overflow events,' King's College London researchers said in a paper that detailed their findings, according to the Evening Standard. London's water treatment plants are tasked with purifying the water but major storms reportedly "overwhelm"...

Italian river 'full of cocaine' Scientists have found large quantities of cocaine residue in a river in northern Italy - suggesting consumption is much higher than previously thought. They say they found the equivalent of 40,000 doses a day in the Po valley, home to about five million people. The study, published by the UK's Environmental Health magazine, tests sewage and rivers for levels of a by-product of cocaine metabolism. The team say the test has to be refined before being applied on a vast scale. The chemical found in the urine of cocaine users is called benzoylecgonine, or BE....