# Price of Marijuana? Is my leg being pulled? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 20, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858 "2004-12-20T20:32:15Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/1 "2004-12-20T20:32:15Z")
OK, first off, it’s not what you think. Today I received a new case wherein my new client was reportedly caught travelling across country with just under 10 pounds of “BC Bud” Marijuana. In speaking with the prosecutor about getting some early discovery, he mentioned that the street value of the MJ was around 1/2 million. Whaaaa? For Marijuana? The Prosecutor indicated that this particular kind of MJ was in high demand and the street value was astronomical. Is he puffing his case? Is the value of BC Bud really that high? In general, as a criminal defense attorney I know much more about the creation, distribution and general marketing of drugs, but this info seems inflated. Anyone know anything about this? Pursuant to board policy and common sense, I don’t want any information that may be perceived as advocating anything illegal, and I don’t really care how yoiu may know what you know, just what you know, you know? Thanks ---
**Author:** ![jacksen9](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ce73a5/32.png) [@jacksen9](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jacksen9)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/2 "2004-12-20T20:44:27Z")
> [@Reloy3](#): > > OK, first off, it’s not what you think. > > Today I received a new case wherein my new client was reportedly caught travelling across country with just under 10 pounds of “BC Bud” Marijuana. In speaking with the prosecutor about getting some early discovery, he mentioned that the street value of the MJ was around 1/2 million. Whaaaa? For Marijuana? The Prosecutor indicated that this particular kind of MJ was in high demand and the street value was astronomical. Is he puffing his case? Is the value of BC Bud really that high? In general, as a criminal defense attorney I know much more about the creation, distribution and general marketing of drugs, but this info seems inflated. Anyone know anything about this? > > Pursuant to board policy and common sense, I don’t want any information that may be perceived as advocating anything illegal, and I don’t really care how yoiu may know what you know, just what you know, you know? > Thanks No help here, but it would seem to me that the prosecution would base the charge on the quantity of the marijuana instead of the quality or type. Should we expect the prosecutor to bring a lesser charge if say they arrested someone with ten pounds of homegrown? ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/3 "2004-12-20T20:52:04Z")
Well, hopefully this isn’t against board policty: BC bud is pretty famous for being really good. It’s definitely not known as the best for the serious smoker, but for somebody with casual knowledge, BC is kind of known as the upper echelons of weed. I’d peg an ounce (which is quite a bit of weed… 10 lbs is like what you see in movies!) at probably being… hmm… this is more guesswork than anything else… around $500-600. That may be a bit high, or it may be a bit low, but it’s probably close. So taking it at $500 \* 16 \* 10 = $80k, which is a lot, but not even close to half a mil. I’ll see if I can find a better pricing for it and get back to you. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/4 "2004-12-20T21:03:35Z")
Ugh, I wrote an addendum and it got eaten again. I guess somebody needs to feed the hamsters. Anyway, I was saying that the price can vary hugely depending on where you are, who you know, etc, etc. There is no real market value for it. Having said that, I take back my first guess at $500. I’d put it closer to $300 max, which makes his estimate at $500000 even more ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Dogzilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e480ec/32.png) [@Dogzilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogzilla)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/5 "2004-12-20T21:04:17Z")
I think $500-600 per ounce sounds ridiculously high. (ahem) Pun not intended. :smack: In general, current prices seem to range from $100 per ounce for garbage up to about $300 per ounce for really good stuff. I suppose people sometimes pay as much as $500 per ounce, but I can’t imagine why that would be a good idea. Ten pounds of weed at half a million? What, do prosecutors get a commission or something? ---
**Author:** ![gazpacho](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/6f9a4e/32.png) [@gazpacho](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gazpacho)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/6 "2004-12-20T21:15:53Z")
They don’t price it by the ounce. They price by the smallest amount you can buy which and then assume that the guy selling it would sell it by that amount. Then the multiply by some number they pull out of their butt because it is not like there is a good reference for this sort of thing. ---
**Author:** ![Chastain86](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Chastain86](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chastain86)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/7 "2004-12-20T21:22:31Z")
Before this thread gets locked (and I believe it will sooner or later), what about the supposed “government-engineered” buds that was eluded to in the film American Beauty? I have no personal anecdote to share, but I always assumed that such a thing existed IRL, and that such product would go at a very high premium indeed. I find a half-mil a little unlikely, as do the rest of you, but I’m sure that better growing stock will result in higher pricetags. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/8 "2004-12-20T21:23:16Z")
> [@gazpacho](#): > > They don’t price it by the ounce. They price by the smallest amount you can buy which and then assume that the guy selling it would sell it by that amount. Then the multiply by some number they pull out of their butt because it is not like there is a good reference for this sort of thing. The pricing of weed, though, is generally linear. So even if they picked the smallest amount, as long as it’s a realistic number, they should come up with a realistic end number. As far as why the type of weed matters, it’s probably because when you’re carrying around 10 lbs, you’re definitely looking to sell. And thus the type matters since the higher in demand, the higher “street” value, and the worse the offense. ---
**Author:** ![Jurph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/50afbb/32.png) [@Jurph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jurph)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/9 "2004-12-20T21:26:13Z")
To sell any product at an inflated price, you need to ask what the buyer is paying for. With “BC Bud” there’s a perception of exceptional quality, which is backed up by the other (ahem) Dopers above. If your client is telling the truth, then his customers are either - apathetic about the price - ignorant of the value - willing to pay a premium to buy from him - deeply stupid or some combination of those factors. A “go to” guy for a recently-minted rap star, Congressman, or sports star might be told “go find me some BC Bud” and be handed a pile of cash with the understanding that he buys as cheaply as he can and keeps the rest as “commission.” I’m not 100% sure how this system works, but I know it does. At the Clara Barton Rest Stop on the NJ Turpike, I found a 3x5" spiral bound notebook that was arranged by page as follows: ARTIST VENUE DATE & SHOWTIME (long list of weird items with names and phone numbers) e.g. N SYNC LYRIC OPERA HOUSE, BALTIMORE APRIL 3 7pm (Go on at 9:30) Five black T-Shirts, Hanes cotton ribbed. 2xM, 3xL Ten white T-shirts, Hanes cotton, smooth 4xM 6xL - Aquafina water, 100 bottles Camel + Marlboro Twizzlers licorice, red (not cherry!) TWIX three vegetable platters with carrots but no celery Several pages didn’t have artist names, but did have things like “Maui Wowie” - 10 Panama (a little extra) 3X no names Would prefer tall (natural) redheads …and so on. It’s possible your client was selling to one of these. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/10 "2004-12-20T21:28:30Z")
A quarter is about as low as you can get a street price for- $40-50 bucks per. No-one buys an eighth. Were still only at, tops, $200 per ounce. $500,000 seems about right for Cocaine. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Reloy3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c68b51/32.png) [@Reloy3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reloy3)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/11 "2004-12-20T21:29:58Z")
> [@jacksen9](#): > > No help here, but it would seem to me that the prosecution would base the charge on the quantity of the marijuana instead of the quality or type. Should we expect the prosecutor to bring a lesser charge if say they arrested someone with ten pounds of homegrown? Yes and no - that amount of Marijuana is remarkable, but not unheard of - I have about 1-2 cases a year between 1 and 10 pounds of pot. It does matter in two ways - 1) the quality of the pot and it’s “street value” can make a difference to a sentencing judge (and a jury if I can’t keep that information excluded) because it makes the client look like a bigger fish in the chain of distribution; and 2) (and more importantly) it makes a difference as to if the Feds may want to come in and poach the case. ---
**Author:** ![audiobottle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bc8723/32.png) [@audiobottle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/audiobottle)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/12 "2004-12-20T21:35:01Z")
> [@Uncommon Sense](#): > > A quarter is about as low as you can get a street price for- $40-50 bucks per. No-one buys an eighth. > Were still only at, tops, $200 per ounce. > > $500,000 seems about right for Cocaine. 😃 Here is a good example of the variation in prices. In my wayward days, which were about a year ago, an eighth was a pretty commonly sold amount, and about $40-50 sounds about right for it. A quarter was a bit more, and about double that. So there you go. It all depends on where you are. ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/13 "2004-12-20T21:35:46Z")
My pit thread on this very problem - [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288851](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288851) ---
**Author:** ![Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rex_fenestrarum/32/7265_2.png) [@Rex\_Fenestrarum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rex_Fenestrarum)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/14 "2004-12-20T21:50:23Z")
As others have mentioned, in drug cases the government (that is, the arresting agency, the DA, etc.) almost always divide the drug into its smallest sale unit, then multiply this by the amount seized to reach a dollar value. This generates lots of publicity for the agency\DA and gets huge numbers in the papers. This is inaccurate for the same reason that wholesale prices and retail prices are not the same. A seller of large quantities of marijuana might get “only” $1000 a pound, while the next guy in the chain might sell it for $16,000 (160 ounces x $100/ounce). The “wholesaler” sells his weed for relatively cheap price, because he or she typically only has to deal with a few trusted people. There is little risk and little work for the wholesaler. The next guy in the chain (the “retailer”) has to sell 160 units, which might require contacting as many as 160 people, any one of which might be a narc and\or stupid. They get a higher cash payoff, but the amount of work and the risk involves greatly increases too. But the government likes putting large numbers in the papers, so even if the quantity seized might sell for $1000 _in the quantity seized_, they’ll divide it up to the lowest street quantity to be able to put the higest possible retail price in the papers. Having said all that, the DAs estimate still seems quite… “high” 😉 _Note: all numbers in this post are made up. But the principle behind them is accurate._ ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/15 "2004-12-20T22:13:33Z")
Tell the DA it is time to put up or shut up. Have him sell half, and multiply by two. This will establish street value. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![MaryEFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba8739/32.png) [@MaryEFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaryEFoo)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/16 "2004-12-20T22:14:57Z")
As a defense attorney, you are no doubt familiar with the prosecution’s method of charging an offense as highly as possible, and I believe you are asking for pricing references. **Parental** ’s [cite](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=288851) gives you some references for prices. **Rex** and **gazpacho** ’s posts are correct on the concept (based on my general knowledge only). ---
**Author:** ![Burrido](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/3be4f8/32.png) [@Burrido](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burrido)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2004, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/17 "2004-12-20T23:59:23Z")
500000 / 10 = $50000 per pound 50000 / 16 = $3125 per ounce 3125 / 8 = $390.62 per eighth When normally on the street you’re looking at $15 - $40 for an eighth, $390.62 per is just plain wrong. THE most I’ve ever heard for an eighth was $80, nowhere close to the $390 he’s suggesting. ---
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/18 "2004-12-21T00:46:57Z")
> [@Burrido](#): > > 500000 / 10 = $50000 per pound > 50000 / 16 = $3125 per ounce > 3125 / 8 = $390.62 per eighth > > When normally on the street you’re looking at $15 - $40 for an eighth, $390.62 per is just plain wrong. THE most I’ve ever heard for an eighth was $80, nowhere close to the $390 he’s suggesting. That was my math too. I simply don’t believe there’s any “street” pot at $3125/oz. The unusual scenario mentioned above by **Jurph** is a possibility, but not likely irl. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/19 "2004-12-21T01:15:02Z")
> [@Burrido](#): > > 500000 / 10 = $50000 per pound > 50000 / 16 = $3125 per ounce > 3125 / 8 = $390.62 per eighth > > When normally on the street you’re looking at $15 - $40 for an eighth, $390.62 per is just plain wrong. THE most I’ve ever heard for an eighth was $80, nowhere close to the $390 he’s suggesting. There’s also dime and nickel bags, generally around a gram or a half a gram. Using your math: 3125 / 28 = $111.61 per _gram_. If anybody thinks any marijuana can be sold for that rate, they must be high. ---
**Author:** ![Uncommon\_Sense](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Uncommon\_Sense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncommon_Sense)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2004, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858/20 "2004-12-21T01:23:45Z")
> [@Ellis Dee](#): > > There’s also dime and nickel bags, generally around a gram or a half a gram. Using your math: > > 3125 / 28 = $111.61 per _gram_. If anybody thinks any marijuana can be sold for that rate, they must be high. Check post 10 Seems about right for cocaine. $112 per gram that is. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/price-of-marijuana-is-my-leg-being-pulled/280858.md?page=2)