NCJ Number
201057
Date Published
April 2003
Length
28 pages
Annotation
This report presents price information for the following illicit drugs from 1998 through 2001: cocaine, crack cocaine, heroin, marijuana, methamphetamine, LSD, MDMA, GHB, ketamine, and PCP; purity levels are reported for cocaine, heroin, and the delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content for marijuana.
Abstract
Price data were compiled from DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) field division reports. Cocaine prices at the kilogram level remained relatively low in the primary importation/distribution centers, such as Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City, as well as in most other major U.S. cities. Cocaine prices nationwide remained relatively stable over the time period. "Crack" cocaine prices also remained stable, indicating it too was readily available nationwide. Cocaine purity levels decreased at the kilogram level from 82 percent in 1998 to 69 percent in 2001. Ounce and gram levels also decreased, from 69 percent in 1998 to 53 percent in 2001 and from 69 percent to 56 percent, respectively. Heroin is readily available in many U.S. cities, as indicated by the unprecedented level of average retail purity. Heroin price and purity vary widely. Nationally, 2001 data show that South American heroin ranged from $60,000 to $125,000 per kilogram. Southeast Asian and Southwest Asian heroin ranged in price from $35,000 to $120,000 per kilogram. Wholesale-level prices for Mexican heroin were the lowest of any type, ranging from $15,000 to $65,000 per kilogram. Overall heroin purity at the kilogram level increased slightly, but remained below 70 percent in 2001; however, gram-purity and ounce-purity levels declined slightly, but remained over 50 percent. Marijuana is available in two grades: commercial grade and sinsemilla. Sinsemilla is the unpollinated flowering bud from the female cannabis plant. Commercial-grade marijuana is a designation used by the DEA for non-sinsemilla marijuana. Prices for commercial-grade marijuana have remained relatively stable over the past decade, ranging from approximately $300 to $700 per pound in U.S. Southwest border areas to between $1,400 to $3,000 per pound in the Midwest and northeastern United States. National methamphetamine prices at the pound level decreased significantly from 1998 to 1999, but increased in 2000 and remained stable in 2001. At the wholesale level, prices ranged from $3,000 to $17,000 per pound in the West and from $5,000 to $23,000 per pound in the Midwest, southeastern, and northeastern sections of the country. In 2001, methamphetamine continued to be a problem throughout the United States. Prices for LSD, MDMA, PCP, GHB, and ketamine are reported for only 2000 and 2001. Extensive tables