Federal Govt. Looks to Sewage for Answers

This mornings WaPo reports that Fairfax County is participating in the Federal Governments program to test drug use. Ok, great - let's find out how many coke heads are running amok over in Fairfax. I'd hazard a guess and say that their are plenty, both in Fairfax and beyond. The Federal Government isn't interested in rough estimates however, and wants to get a more complete picture of the overall misuse of illegal substances. So where are they looking for these answers?....your toilet.

Well, your sewage to be more exact:

"Earlier this month, the county agreed to participate in a White House pilot program to analyze wastewater from communities throughout the Potomac River Basin for the urinary byproducts of cocaine."

The Feds borrowed this lovely idea from Europe, where testing of the Po River Basin yielded surprising results on the useage of drugs (specifically cocaine).

Here's the thing - I don't think the Feds need to waste time, money and other resources taking samples of crap to prove that we've got a drug problem in the U.S. Although the image of a bunch of Feds wading through a sea of crap Shawshank Redemption style makes me laugh a little.