# Illegal drugs: an international comparison shopping **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 21, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581 "2003-02-21T18:18:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/1 "2003-02-21T18:18:54Z")
I’m helping a friend compile data for a report on illegal drug prices through time in America, and I was curious how illegal drug prices (particularly heroin, marijuana, and cocaine) on American streets today compare to their prices in western and central Europe. Does anybody happen to know of any studies or sites that have already researched this? (As said, I plan to research it myself, but as a timesaver was curious if anybody had the same interest.) I would think that heroin would be cheaper in central Europe due to the Meditteranean trade routes, but the limited research I’ve done indicates that cocaine sells for more in many South American cities than it does in America due to market demand. ---
**Author:** ![mooka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@mooka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mooka)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/2 "2003-02-21T18:38:13Z")
See this page for UK prices: [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2010203.stm](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2010203.stm) The figures they quote seem high though. Ecstasy normally costs from £2 to £5, cocaine is usually £50 a gram, and amphetamines are normally £5 a gram. I know all this from a friend of course! ---
**Author:** ![SonOfArizona](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/43a26b/32.png) [@SonOfArizona](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SonOfArizona)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/3 "2003-02-21T20:40:42Z")
I am actually quite curious about this too. I am also aware that drug prices can vary quite a bit within our own country as well. For instance, marijuana was a lot cheaper in arizona than it is where i live now, in massachusetts. This I know from talking to um… friends… who… smoked… eh i tried. ---
**Author:** ![Bongmaster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Bongmaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bongmaster)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/4 "2003-02-21T21:20:51Z")
In the greater Philadelphia area (Pennsylvania, east coast US) pot will sell for anywhere from $140 to $400 an ounce depending upon quality. The average is probably around $200 an ounce. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/5 "2003-02-21T22:24:35Z")
Back when the Rat Pack was still alive and I was buying, it was around $25-$35 for a decent quarter ounce in Alabama, so inflation hasn’t been as bad as I’d have thought. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/6 "2003-02-21T22:25:57Z")
I have never been more pleased to say that my information is waaaaaay out of date! 😃 Back in the day (mid-80’s to early 90’s), coke was $100 per gram, pot was really cheap, and acid cost about $5 per hit. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/7 "2003-02-21T22:28:05Z")
Here’s a stupid question: how far will a gram or heroin or coke go for an average user? Is that one hit, three hits, or how much? (My experience stopped at the freshmen bongdance many years ago). ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [February 21, 2003, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/8 "2003-02-21T23:24:40Z")
Totally depends on the user, my dear. In my early days, a 1/4 gram of coke could last several hours. Later, I could snort 1 gram in a single line. Average? Maybe 12 lines per gram? No stupid questions, only stupid people who answer them on public message boards! 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Ender\_Will](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb9ed0/32.png) [@Ender\_Will](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ender_Will)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/9 "2003-02-22T17:40:52Z")
No experience in this field, but going to Junior College in SoCal, one tends to meet folks into this junk. From what my friends say acid is about $5/hit, marijuana about $15-20/gram. ---
**Author:** ![Electronic\_Chaos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Electronic\_Chaos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Electronic_Chaos)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2003, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/10 "2003-02-22T22:35:48Z")
TN- about $20-30 for a quarter ounce of decent weed. $20-ish for a hit of x. ---
**Author:** ![MysteryFellow63427](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a88e4f/32.png) [@MysteryFellow63427](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MysteryFellow63427)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2003, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illegal-drugs-an-international-comparison-shopping/156581/11 "2003-02-24T08:55:27Z")
**Sampiro** , if you feel like some first hand research, you might try to do some interviews of narcotics officers in major cities. Could be fun.