Fish got hooked! ... on some meth.
Scientific researchers got some brown trout addicted to meth in a test that had them swimming in a tank with meth-laced water for eight weeks, a study published said.
When they were later given an option of a clean stream or one with methamphetamine the trout preferred the tainted water! This was a sign the trout were experiencing withdrawal.
The study, which aimed to test the effects of drugs seeping into natural waterways, also found the trout moved around less after meth exposure than their drug-free counterparts. I mean... fish and humans alike here...
The study's head researcher told CNN that as the drug seeps through the filtration process at water treatment plants, the drug-addicted fish could seek out water change behavioral patterns and throw the ecosystem into disarray.
The bad part is that wastewater plants are not equipped to remove such drugs as meth that have seeped through the water supply. The meth-addicted fish may gather themselves around where the plants are discharging water!
"Current research from teams around the world undoubtedly shows their adverse impact on ecosystems, which in turn can influence humans, said Pavel Horky of the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague.
But, not to worry too much about such drug contamination as the waterways are expected to have less concentration of meth than what was used in the study... close to 1 microgram per liter.
Don't know about you, but if we're going fishing soon... (which we aren't) we're staying clear of those fish because that's a little too much for our liking.