Leeuwarden is not only a leader in the field of cocaine, the Frisian capital also leads the rankings when it comes to the use of amphetamines. The use of both substances has increased significantly compared to the previous measurement in 2023, writes the Leeuwarder Courant.
That year, at the request of the CDA, the sewage water was examined. Researchers looked at traces of narcotics and thus calculated the ‘average load in milligrams per thousand inhabitants’.
In 2023, 1192 mg of benzoylegonine (a residual product of the human body on the basis of which cocaine use is calculated) was measured per thousand inhabitants, this year that figure increased to 1748 mg per thousand people. For comparison: in the last study conducted in Amsterdam, in 2024, the capital scored 1206 mg per thousand inhabitants.
According to the research, half as much is used in Groningen. And there is also much less snorting in Rotterdam (973 mg), Zwolle (493 mg) and Eindhoven (810 mg), writes the Leeuwarder Courant.
Amphetamine, speed, is also more popular in Leeuwarden than in other places in the Netherlands.
Not all municipalities in the Netherlands examine sewage water for traces of drug use.