Fact or Urban Legend: Gators in New York Sewers and Meth Gators in Tennessee?

[Ax01]

i don't think anyone should be doing meth or dumping their drugs anywhere that can reach and impact the environment and animals but i don't think that diluted toilet water meth can get a gator high on ice. can it? b/c Tennessee police are warning their residents not to do so for fear of hyper-aggressive Alligators tweaking on meth. i doubt it tho. (well maybe unless it was Blue Sky)

story and vid here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...et/1740780001/

Methed-up gators and ducks and geese: Tennessee police warn against flushing drugs down the toilet
Pray to never encounter a "meth-gator": an alligator on methamphetamine.

One Tennessee police department is urging residents not to flush drugs down the toilet, citing fears that wildlife might consume them and exhibit unnatural behaviors.

"Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do," the Loretto Police Department posted Saturday on Facebook. "Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama."

Some social media users immediately latched on to prospect of methed-up gators.

"This should be the new mascot for a university down there," one user tweeted. "Think of how terrifying it would be to play the South Alabama Meth Gators."

"TONIGHT!! Live at THE NICK!!! METH GATORRRRR!!!!" another user joked.

The effects of methamphetamine on alligators is unknown. Loretto police did not note any recent documented cases of alligators consuming meth, but took a dig at Alabama's "attack squirrel" case.

Last month, Alabama authorities arrested a man who allegedly fed meth to a pet squirrel named Deeznutz and trained it to attack people. Authorities said they could not conduct a drug test on it, however.

A jungle python in Australia reportedly required six weeks of detoxification after absorbing meth through its skin in a lab. The python behaved more aggressively and erratically, a senior overseer at the John Morony correctional complex told The Telegraph.

Dogs fed meth can suffer from seizures, diarrhea and extreme agitation, according to a study published in the BMC Veterinary Research journal.

Researchers have also found freshwater shrimp with traces of cocaine in the United Kingdom, according to a University of Suffolk study. Professors cited concerns about the environmental consequences of such pollution.

In Tennessee, police noted sanitation workers are not prepared to clean out meth from sewage before sending it to retention ponds or eventually downstream to Alabama's alligator habitats.

and here: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...ators-n1030291

'Meth-gators': Tennessee police warn flushing drugs could create hyper-aggressive alligators"Folks … please don’t flush your drugs m’kay," the Loretto Police Department wrote in a Facebook post.

A police department in Loretto, Tennessee, is asking residents to refrain from flushing drugs, such as methamphetamine, down the toilet to prevent "meth-gators."

In the Facebook post, the Loretto Police Department wrote that on Saturday, officers executed a search warrant on a home and discovered the occupant trying to flush meth and drug paraphernalia down his toilet.

Although the suspect was unsuccessful, the officers used the incident to remind residents of the harm drugs can cause to the environment.

"Folks … please don’t flush your drugs m’kay ... our sewer guys take great pride in releasing water that is cleaner than what is in the creek, but they are not really prepared for meth," the post read. "Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do."

The post warns that meth could make its way into Shoal Creek, down the Tennessee River in North Alabama and into the bodies of alligators.

"Furthermore, if it made it far enough we could create meth-gators in Shoal Creek and the Tennessee River down in North Alabama," police wrote. "They’ve had enough methed up animals the past few weeks without our help. So, if you need to dispose of your drugs just give us a call and we will make sure they are disposed of in the proper way."

But Kent Vliet, an alligator biologist and the coordinator of laboratories in the department of biology at the University of Florida, said he has never once heard of an alligator on meth.

"I've worked with alligators for 40 years, and I generally can answer any question someone gives me about them. This one's throwing me for a loop," Vliet told NBC News.

Vliet, who is not a veterinarian, said in a study he participated in, in which gators were dosed with antibiotics, the animals had to be injected with the medication, rather than orally fed the drug, to see a sustained effect.

"I would guess they might be affected by it, but they tend to not react to drugs in the same way we do, and I don’t know if it would take a little or a lot to get an alligator to do something on meth," Vliet said. "I think it’s a ridiculous notion. If you flush meth its going to be diluted."

Vliet added that people who are not familiar with gators tend to over-exaggerate their dangers, adding that the reptile does not seek out humans to harm or eat.

The Facebook post's mention of "methed up animals" in Alabama may have been a reference to a caged "attack squirrel" who was believed to have been given methamphetamine to keep it aggressive.

The alleged methed-up "attack squirrel" was discovered during the execution of a search warrant on a suspect believed to possess controlled substances.

However, officials in the area said there was no safe way to test the squirrel for meth.

and edit to add: the first story mentions authorities finding a Morelia getting high and becoming aggressive after absorbing meth via skin contact during a meth house bust in Australia. here's the story for that: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...ralian-prison/

[Craiga 01453]

There's no way some flushed meth would still be concentrated enough to get a gator high. I mean, I guess I it was still bagged and the gator swallowed the bag. But even then I doubt it unless it was a larger quantity, too big to flush.
And lets be real, nobody is dumping their stash unless they're high and paranoid, and most addicts can't afford more than a little satchel here and there.
I never got into meth, but my past taught me a lot about the drug game.

[MarkL1561]

They’re just trying to scare them into not flushing their drugs. Chemical pollutants can build up in animal tissue but I highly highly doubt a gator would get high Most drug addicts aren’t very educated so they’re probably assuming they’re dumb enough to believe it.


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[FollowTheSun]

"Ducks, Geese, and other fowl frequent our treatment ponds and we shudder to think what one all hyped up on meth would do,"

[Bogertophis]

Let's face it, no drugs of ANY kind (legal or otherwise) should be flushed down the drain or toilet...they now know that it ends up where it shouldn't...in the
groundwater, in the wildlife, or back in OUR own water. They've caught fish containing hormones (given to humans) & all sorts of harmful drugs & chemicals.

Where I live, there is a drop-off for unwanted/expired meds & periodically the sheriffs office reminds everyone by having a formal "drug take-back day".
Our "road & bridge" department also collects any toxics that don't belong in landfill, such as batteries, pesticides, paints & stains, fluorescent lights...and any that
are usable products are free for anyone to pick-up too...I think it's a good system (especially considering this is not a big town here).

[Craiga 01453]

Most drug addicts aren’t very educated so they’re probably assuming they’re dumb enough to believe it.


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That statement is 100% false. And quite ignorant. I'm a drug addict and through my network of recovery have grown to know many well educated and successful men and women.
But I guess I must be wrong since I'm not well educated...

[MarkL1561]

Let's face it, no drugs of ANY kind (legal or otherwise) should be flushed down the drain or toilet...they now know that it ends up where it shouldn't...in the
groundwater, in the wildlife, or back in OUR own water. They've caught fish containing hormones (given to humans) & all sorts of harmful drugs & chemicals.

Where I live, there is a drop-off for unwanted/expired meds & periodically the sheriffs office reminds everyone by having a formal "drug take-back day".
Our "road & bridge" department also collects any toxics that don't belong in landfill, such as batteries, pesticides, paints & stains, fluorescent lights...and any that
are usable products are free for anyone to pick-up too...I think it's a good system (especially considering this is not a big town here).

Exactly. I actually have a coworker doing research on the affects of birth control on larval fish. It doesn’t even have to be flushed, the chemicals passed through urin are enough to mess up ontogeny. Treatment systems to remove these compounds are often extremely expensive so it’s just pumped back into nature.


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[Reinz]

Man that is one method-up story.

[Bogertophis]

They’re just trying to scare them into not flushing their drugs. Chemical pollutants can build up in animal tissue...

There was a time they told everyone to flush expired & unwanted medications down the toilet...it's a real challenge to change what people do once it's proven to
be very harmful to other life forms (including us). We really need smarter leadership...and we need it badly. Like, yesterday.

[Reinz]

Man that is one method-up story.

Sorry got stung by autocorrect again.

Should read: methed-up story.