In the latest episode of 'Lest We Forget Historical,' we explore the discovery of cocaine in sharks from the Gulf of Maine and Brazil. The Oswaldo Cruz Foundation reported this finding, initially covered by the BBC, after testing 13 Brazilian sharp-nosed sharks near Rio de Janeiro.

There are three potential causes for this issue: illegal drug labs discharging wastewater into the harbor, sharks ingesting cocaine packets thrown overboard to avoid law enforcement, and, most likely, local sewage discharge releasing drug users' urine. Water quality tests have consistently found high ocean drug levels, primarily from untreated sewage.

Currently, there is no straightforward method to remove drugs from wastewater. The likelihood of humans consuming medicines in the Gulf of Maine is higher than one might think. What measures can we take to prevent this?

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