Are drugs in our drinking water affecting our behavior? And if they are, how would we know?

A common antianxiety drug called oxazepam appears to work really well.

On fish, anyway.

Just one problem. Wild fish don’t need anxiety relief. (Not that we know of.)

When we flush away oxazepam and other drugs, some residue ends up in rivers and streams. And, of course, we also “flush away” drugs every time we use the rest room.

Those traces are accumulating.

Now, as far as we know, they’re not affecting you and me. That is, there’s no evidence. But you know how that goes. There may not be any evidence for years. And then, suddenly, the evidence shows up with a vengeance.

That’s what happened with wild perch. In a Swedish experiment, researchers found that oxazepam exposure prompted the perch to become antisocial and bolder. They were even willing to leave safe refuge.

Scientists believe these behavioral changes will make the perch more vulnerable to predators.

It’s pretty frightening to imagine that, over time, traces of drugs in our water could change our natural behavior.

In most cases, nature’s done a pretty good job of programming us for survival. Unfortunately, it looks like the drug companies might have found a cure for that.

Sources:
“Antianxiety Medication Affects Fish Behavior” Robert Lee Hotz, The Wall St. Journal, 2/14/13, wsj.com