# Can I buy heroin dirt cheap anywhere in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 25, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745 "2015-10-25T18:52:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/1 "2015-10-25T18:52:20Z")
I was listening to Mountain’s “Flowers of Evil” from their album of the same name, and I remembered that you could buy heroin, in Vietnam, for some really, really low price, something like under 10 bucks an ounce. 1. Is it still that cheap in Vietnam? 2. Is heroin really, really cheap anywhere in the world? Thanks, hh ---
**Author:** ![Mangosteen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Mangosteen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangosteen)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/2 "2015-10-25T19:00:23Z")
Its not so much how much it costs, its who you are buying it from. Its quite likely that you are buying the heroin from either an undercover cop or a real drug dealer that will turn you in at the airport. He gets his drugs back, you are out your money and as a bonus, you get to spend the next 10 to 20 years in a filthy, dangerous prison. ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/3 "2015-10-25T19:26:47Z")
> [@Mangosteen](#): > > Its not so much how much it costs, its who you are buying it from. > > Its quite likely that you are buying the heroin from either an undercover cop or a real drug dealer that will turn you in at the airport. He gets his drugs back, you are out your money and as a bonus, you get to spend the next 10 to 20 years in a filthy, dangerous prison. Ha! I’m 58 years old…I’d probably die in the first year over there. Joke’s on them! ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/4 "2015-10-25T19:30:59Z")
I imagine the closer to the poppy patch you buy it, the less it costs. ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/5 "2015-10-25T19:50:57Z")
Grow your own ! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/6 "2015-10-25T19:53:36Z")
> [@Claverhouse](#): > > Grow your own ! Is it true that growing opium poppies is legal in the U.S.? ISTR hearing there’s a loophole if you buy them for decorative purposes and don’t extract the drug, but I’m dubious. (I wouldn’t mind having some California poppies in the yard.) ---
**Author:** ![boytyperanma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4491bb/32.png) [@boytyperanma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boytyperanma)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/7 "2015-10-25T20:01:01Z")
According to this randomly googled site Kenya is the place to retire into your heroin assisted death. [http://www.havocscope.com/black-market-prices/heroin-prices/](http://www.havocscope.com/black-market-prices/heroin-prices/) ---
**Author:** ![handsomeharry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e9c0ed/32.png) [@handsomeharry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/handsomeharry)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/8 "2015-10-25T21:05:43Z")
> [@boytyperanma](#): > > According to this randomly googled site Kenya is the place to retire into your heroin assisted death. > > [Heroin Prices - Havocscope - Global Black Markets](http://www.havocscope.com/black-market-prices/heroin-prices/) Alright, Kenya! Gave us a President AND cheap Heroin! ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/9 "2015-10-25T21:13:24Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > Is it true that growing opium poppies is legal in the U.S.? ISTR hearing there’s a loophole if you buy them for decorative purposes and don’t extract the drug, but I’m dubious. > > (I wouldn’t mind having some California poppies in the yard.) Garden poppies and opium poppies are in fact the same thing, but while growing garden poppies in the US is allowed, growing opium poppies is not. This falls into the category (IMO) of open secret. Based on the idiots I knew as a kid, it’s a damn good thing we didn’t know this at the time. It also reminds me of how, when in a head shop, one must never say “bong” > **[Papaver somniferum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papaver_somniferum)** > > Papaver somniferum, commonly known as the opium poppy or breadseed poppy, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae. It is the species of plant from which both opium and poppy seeds are derived and is also a valuable ornamental plant grown in gardens. Its native range was east of the Mediterranean Sea, but has since been obscured and vastly expanded by introduction and cultivation from ancient times to the present day, being naturalized across much of Europe and Asia. > This p... In the United States cultivation is illegal. Opium is listed as a Schedule II controlled substance by the Drug Enforcement Administration. In addition, “Opium poppy and poppy straw” are also prohibited.[16] However, this is not typically enforced for poppies grown or sold for ornamental or food purposes.[5] My mother has quite a few poppies growing in her yard, and I keep threatening to score the seed heads just to see if the cop across the street notices. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 25, 2015, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/10 "2015-10-25T21:41:15Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > Garden poppies and opium poppies are in fact the same thing, but while growing garden poppies in the US is allowed, growing opium poppies is not. Thanks. Turns out they sell Papaver somniferum seeds on amazon. AND they have California poppy seeds. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/11 "2015-10-26T01:55:04Z")
As I understand it, the rich people version of heroin is that oxycontin stuff. It’s a similar buzz, and it’s made by a pharmaceutical company so you know it’s pure. The drug dealers do ask for a bigger cut, you have to schedule an appointment and say the right things to get the piece of paper needed to get it. Major bummer. And it’s not safe, either, prescription drug abuse kills more people than the illegal stuff… ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/12 "2015-10-26T02:15:13Z")
The first book in John Sanford’s “Prey” series I read was “Secret Prey”. A background story going on in that novel was the Old Ladies Garden Club (57 senior ladies) who had been meeting on Sundays for 8 years or so. At some point in time, they got creative with the tea they drank at their meetings; they used various leaves and petals from their gardens to make their own blend of tea. The local doctors started getting an upsurge of older women complaining of aches and pains on Tuesdays that were surprisingly similar to heroin withdrawal, but they never compared notes. Anyway, after the big murder the novel was really about was resolved, the cops had to deal with 57 older women who showed up at the police station to turn themselves in and demanding they be jailed for drug trafficking. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/13 "2015-10-26T02:39:50Z")
Pakistan or Afghanistan probably have the lowest prices as Afghanistan is where much of it is made. I think it runs $1-3k a kilo in those areas. Cocaine is about $1-2k a kilo the closer you are to Columbia. Those are decent prices, $1 a gram for high purity if you buy in bulk. And a dose is a fraction of a gram. I think a rock of cocaine only has 10mg of cocaine, so 1 penny to get enough cocaine to make a dose of crack or a starter dose of heroin which is also about 10mg. Not that I’ve thought about it before. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/14 "2015-10-26T02:45:00Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > …the cops had to deal with 57 older women who showed up at the police station to turn themselves in and demanding they be jailed for drug trafficking. Not sure I follow. Why would they do that? ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [October 26, 2015, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/15 "2015-10-26T18:35:47Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Not sure I follow. Why would they do that? They were law-abiding senior citizens who didn’t know the poppys they grew from readily available seeds that were purchased quite legally were full of OPIUM. They thought turning themselves in was the sort of thing a good, church going, citizen would do. And they probably thought going to jail would be an adventure. Or some could have been bored and wanted to screw with the local police department, who, along with the DEA, had absolutely NO interested in taking any action against them other than, along with their doctors, getting the women weaned off the opium laced tea. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/16 "2015-10-27T04:36:15Z")
Damn, I had this whole elaborate post typed up about pricing in the US and ease of production and availability and oxycontin and then I see we’re in GQ and I can’t editorialize without cites. SO: [This site](http://www.havocscope.com/black-market-prices/heroin-prices/) lists “Brunei $1330.4 per gram” as the highest price in the world - a far fuck from ‘dirt cheap’. Not sure the reliability, but their [About](http://www.havocscope.com/about/) page does attempt to establish some credibility - I just haven’t double checked it yet to be sure (and owing to the time suck from my first reply, I really must be away…). I suspected in Japan it might be especially pricey - but it only comes in at 3rd on this list, behind a surprising second. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/17 "2015-10-27T04:44:27Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > (I wouldn’t mind having some California poppies in the yard.) I like them myself, but just note that under the right conditions they can get downright weedy and smother out other plants. Sorta like Californians in Washington ( according to some Washingtonians 😉 ). ---
**Author:** ![Habeed](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/a587f6/32.png) [@Habeed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Habeed)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/18 "2015-10-27T05:21:39Z")
> [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](#): > > Damn, I had this whole elaborate post typed up about pricing in the US and ease of production and availability and oxycontin and then I see we’re in GQ and I can’t editorialize without cites. Even if you don’t have cites, if you happen to know what oxycontin costs or how available it actually is, and it’s a factual opinion (based on direct experience, from a friend, whatever), I think that’s ok in GQ. It’s your opinion to say “I think oxcontin is too darn easy to get”. It’s a fact to say “I heard from some distant acquaintances that there are still many doctors who will prescribe it like it’s a party favor. You just gotta claim you have back pain. It’s $5 a pill, which is a lot less than drug dealers charge for heroin…” ---
**Author:** ![guizot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guizot/32/3636_2.png) [@guizot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/guizot)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/19 "2015-10-27T05:52:59Z")
> [@Habeed](#): > > As I understand it, the rich people version of heroin is that oxycontin stuff. It’s a similar buzz, and it’s made by a pharmaceutical company so you know it’s pure. The drug dealers do ask for a bigger cut, you have to schedule an appointment and say the right things to get the piece of paper needed to get it. Major bummer. And it’s not safe, either, prescription drug abuse kills more people than the illegal stuff… Well, yeah, and the cheap black-tar heroin that’s been flooding the U.S. is often what the pain pill addicts turn to when they can no longer afford the prescription stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Kobal2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kobal2/32/20_2.png) [@Kobal2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kobal2)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2015, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745/20 "2015-10-27T15:09:21Z")
What, 20 replies and \*nobody \*knows a guy who knows a guy who could help out the OP ? How far the SDMB has fallen… 🙂 [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-i-buy-heroin-dirt-cheap-anywhere-in-the-world/735745.md?page=2)