Drug smugglers routinely push bales of drugs into the ocean and let them float to shore, and for decades fishermen have told stories of seeing sharks consume those bales of drugs.
Marine biologist Tom Hird, working with the Discovery Channel, did a series of experiments to see if sharks were attracted to bales that could contain drugs. They were. Given a choice between a fake swan and a bale, sharks choose the bale. When bales were dropped from planes, sharks moved in. When fish powder was dropped into the ocean as a bait ball, it sparked a shark frenzy. No actual drugs were used in the experiments.
More research is needed to see if all kinds of drugs have affected marine life, Hird said.