Illicit drugs in indoor environment.

While the presence of legal drugs in interiors is known since longtime, illicit substance have been investigated only recently. Indoor cocaine and cannabinoids were first investigated in Rome, in three primary schools, four dwellings, one office and one coffee bar. Psychotropic substances (PSs) were investigated in the winter and spring/summer. Particulates were collected daily, gathered into weekly pools and characterized for nicotine (NIC), caffeine (CAF), cocaine (COC), cannabinol (CBL), cannabidiol (CBD) and ?9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) [1]. Meanwhile, the compounds were investigated at the Regional Air pollution Network (RAN). Table 1 reports the mean PS concentrations found in 2011-12. Indoor PS values were comparable and often exceeding the outdoor ones though the sites were not frequented by abusers. Thus, cocaine and cannabinoids not only entered the internal life places, but also benefitted from internal sources (e.g., dresses and air motions in buildings). Besides, concentrations usually exceeded those at RAN. In the spring/summer campaign the drugs were much less; THC was almost absent and replaced at few extents by CBL. In March 2013 [2], the bar an dwellings were affected by much more cannabinoids than schools; these latter were comparable to RAN. In fact, THC reached 14 ± 15 ng/m3 and CBL 2.5 ± 2.3 ng/m3, while they were 6.6 ± 2.7 and 2.3 ± 1.8 respectively in dwellings and 0.05 ± 0.03 ng/m3and 0.07 ± 0.04 ng/m3 in schools. Also cocaine peaked in the bar (0.33 ± 0.19 ng/m3 vs. 0.16 ± 0.11 ng/m3 elsewhere). References: 1.A. Cecinato et al. (2014a). Environ. Int. 71, 88-93 2.A. Cecinato et al. (2014b). Environ. Sci Pollut. Res. 21, 9193-9200.