Scientists have determined how to test the urine of an entire community using a small amount of sewer water from that city.

The isn’t to determine any single user of illicit drugs. It would instead enable federal agencies track drug patterns and spread across the country.

OSU scholars performed the tests on 10 unnamed cities for drugs, prescribed and otherwise, from the sewers. They were able to give a good idea of the consumed substances.The results were presented to the American Chemical Society in the city of Boston.

The government has tried testing the waterways to see if its possible to drug test a whole city, but the students have made much more progress.

The chemical seen most was caffeine.