Study finds cocaine, pot in Rome's air

[n2doc]

Study finds cocaine, pot in Rome's air
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ROME -- Researchers may have figured out what makes la vita so dolce in Rome. A report from Italy's National Research Council released Thursday found that there are traces of cocaine and cannabis in the air of the Eternal City.

The institute made the discovery during a study of toxic substances in the air of Rome, Taranto, in the heel of boot-shaped Italy, as well as in Algiers. The results found that in Rome, there were traces of cocaine and cannabis - as well as nicotine, caffeine and benzopirene, which is commonly released in cigarette smoke and auto emissions.

"The highest concentrations of cocaine were found in the center of Rome and especially in the area of the University of La Sapienza," said Dr. Angelo Cecinato, who led the investigation.

Researchers can't say for sure why the high concentrations were registered in those locations, but Cecinato stressed that the findings didn't necessarily mean that cocaine and cannabis are more heavily used there.

The report said the maximum concentration of cocaine in Rome - 0.1 nanograms per cubic meter - was five times less than the legal limit for toxic substances in the air. Nevertheless, researchers said even the small amount was reason for concern.

There were small traces of the drugs found in Taranto and none in Algiers, the researchers said.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_ODD_Italy_Drugs_in_Air.html

[firefox_fan]

1. I bet it's the Vatican!

They know that when people are on pot they are more gullible...

[Fridays Child]

2. Papa Ratzo's boys? Heaven forbid!

[youngdem]

3. They're concerned about the DRUG level in the air being unhealthy?

:wtf:

Having lived there, let me just say the air is so fucking dirty that you have lines on your arms and feet where your sandal straps are and where your sleeves end just from walking around Rome on a non-windy day. The air is so acrid with auto exhaust it is difficult to breathe in certain confined areas. After a few days, you can hack black shit out of your lungs if you are out in the city enough, especially if you are riding a scooter or riding in an open car a lot.

Talk about drug hysteria. If they cared about air quality, they would do something about the smog and cigarette smoke.

[Warpy]

8. When I ran away from home, I ended up in Boston

and I will never forget blowing the nose when I woke up on the first morning and having it all come out BLACK!

Most big cities, especially old big cities, are filthy from car exhaust, home heating, and coal smoke from remaining coal power plants.

Improving air quality has to start with cars and smokestacks. Fewer people are dumb enough to smoke, and smoking is quickly being banned indoors, so I'm not taking that sort of pollution on, although the several trillion pounds of tobacco burned annually does qualify it as a major pollutant. As long as we cope with the first two sources, we can live with the third.

...as long as we don't have to try to live with it in confined spaces.

[whistle]

4. Have they checked the Vatican chimney?

[firefox_fan]

5. Yup... That's it.

[whistle]

6. Hahahahaha

[WillyT]

9. Yeah... Curious That We Wait For The "White" Smoke...

:shrug:

[HeeBGBz]

7. Beats what we got. n/t

[Clark2008]

10. Haha! No wonder half the population eats all the time and the

other half is painfully thin.

:)