Cocaine pollution may push salmon to roam farther, study finds

A two-month study in Lake Vättern found juvenile Atlantic salmon exposed to cocaine or its main metabolite benzoylecgonine swam longer distances and moved farther north than unexposed controls, with the metabolite causing the larger change. The results suggest drug pollution in rivers and lakes could alter salmon behavior and survival, highlighting the need for better wastewater management and greener medicines to reduce environmental risk.