UK Drug Prices - 1995

Results of a small survey of drug users attending a pop festival.

Matthew J. Atha BSc MSc

Drug Abuse Research & Information Consultant

These preliminary results are taken from a small sample of 189 drug users who completed anonymous questionnaires at a UK pop festival in June 1995, and 26 readers of a nationally distributed magazine (bulk/bag prices not included). Respondents were drawn from all over the UK. The sample was a booster from the much larger 1994/95 survey (n=1333), which did not address the question of prices of drugs other than cannabis.

There are indications of a general decline in prices of amphetamine. Amphetamine, with an average purity of approximately 5%, now normally sells for between £5 and £10 per gram (only 3 respondents quoted prices in excess of £10 per gram), ounce prices predominantly between £80 and £100, and probably dependent on purity. Fewer users are buying grams, with prices of street amphetamine sulphate broadly similar to cannabis prices at the ounce level or above. There are indications that stronger (20-40%) amphetamine (paste) is becoming available at prices roughly double that of "street" quality amphetamine (5%)

Ecstasy prices are predominantly between £10 and £15 per tablet. Only 4 respondents quoted prices under £10, and 6 over £15 per tablet. The price of multiple doses of LSD are now sufficiently low for users to buy enough for several "trips". Due to the low potency (quoted at 50µg to 70µg) it is not unusual for users to take several blotter squares at once.

All these prices (other than for crack and heroin) are substantially lower than the 1993 prices quoted by ISDD from official sources. Whether this shows a real decline in these prices since 1993, or whether the lower prices are due to systematic differences arising from the different sources of information, is unclear.

Drug Prices @ June - November 1995 (Total sample : 215 respondents)
Drug		Quantity	Avg.price	Std Dev.	n	Range
LSD		tab	£2.99	0.82	114	£1 to £5
		10 tabs	£20.15	5.18	44	£10 to £30
		100 tabs*	£88.33	10.41	3	£80 to £100
Mushroomsº		gram	£3.39	1.48	35	£1 to £7
		ounce*	£30	*	1	n/a
MDMA (Ecstasy)		tab	£11.65	2.45	108	£4 to £20
		10 tabs	£87.57	19.6	36	£30 to £120
Other psychedelic (e.g ketamine, mescaline)		dose*	£6.00	2.4	7	£2.50 to £10
Amphetamine		gram	£8.28	2.51	97	£5 to £20
		ounce	£99.26	25.47	27	£40 to £210
Cocaine		gram	£56.66	18.88	50	£35 to £75
Crack		rock*	£21.50	2.24	5	£20 to £25
Heroin		"bag"*	£12.44	4.71	9	£10 to £20
		gram*	£83.33	17.51	6	£50 to £100

* The prices for crack, heroin, other psychedelics, LSD (100 tabs) and mushrooms (ounce) are included for illustration only, as the sample sizes are in each case too small to be regarded as statistically reliable.  

º The price data for mushrooms only includes those respondents who quoted a definitive price. By far the most commonly quoted price for mushrooms was "free", this was positively stated by 65 respondents, nearly twice as many as those who quoted an actual price. In effect the value of mushrooms is seasonal, mushrooms having no value when in season (normally late August to early December), but they may occasionally be sold out of season during the summer at festivals and other events. It is quite normal for a mushroom user to pick a substantial surplus during the season in order to provide a personal supply for the rest of the year.

1 December 1995. Matthew J. Atha BSc MSc