Meth Weights and Prices
An average dose of meth is about a quarter of a gram. Because of ice's intensity, smaller doses provide bigger highs; a gram of ice can provide 10 to 25 hits (doses) of meth. Heavy meth users take three or more grams of meth at a time. Notice how an ounce of gold compares with an ounce of meth.

|
Dose |
Weight |
Cost |
|
Quarter |
1/4 gram (0.01 ounce) |
$20-$80 |
|
Half |
1/2 gram (0.02 ounce) |
$40-$80 |
|
Gram |
1 gram (0.04 ounce) |
$60-$300* |
|
Teenager |
1/16 ounce (1.8 grams) |
$120-$500 |
|
8-Ball |
1/8 ounce (3.5 grams) |
$100-$250** |
|
Ounce of Meth |
1.00 ounce |
$1,200-$1,700 |
|
Ounce of Gold |
1.00 ounce |
$500 |
|
Pound of Ice |
16 ounces |
$9,000-$13,000 |
|
*Highest retail prices for one gram: Honolulu, Miami, Detroit, and New York City **Lowest retail prices for one-eighth ounce: Los Angeles, San Diego, and Phoenix |
||
The price of meth also depends upon the amount purchased and where in the country it is sold. Overall, the price of meth has declined since the 1980s, but for illicit meth manufacturers, it is still a profitable business. A superlab making an average amount of meth—100 pounds—can earn the manufacturer about $4 million when sold on the street. For the smaller labs, an investment of about $1,500 in ingredients can be turned into $15,000 in meth sales, a tenfold increase.
Purity And Price
The purer the drug, the more potent it is. The more potent a drug, the more intense are its effects. The more intensely a drug effects someone, the more it potentially addictive it is. Superlabs produce the purest and most potent meth because they have trained chemists making the drug. Depending on the method used, the purity of the meth from superlabs ranges from 80 to 90 percent. Small-scale labs produce meth with much lower purity.
Ice is purer than powdered meth. To make more money, powdered meth is diluted, or "cut," with other ingredients and chemicals. This decreases the purity but increases the total amount of product available to sell. In 2005, the purity of street meth averaged about 54 percent, and contained such substances as baking soda, Epsom salts, quinine (a malaria drug), mannitol (a sugar alternative), ether (a toxic solvent), insecticides (a poison), monosodium glutamate (a preservative), photo developer (a toxic solvent), and strychnine (a poison). Heavy meth users may even prefer these additives because the impurities can give a more intense rush. It is important to remember that it is never possible to know the exact strength or purity of the meth, even if the meth is obtained from a familiar supplier.
The purity of meth has risen and fallen over the years. This reflects a basic supply and demand market. When the key chemicals needed to make meth are not as readily available and therefore are more costly, purity falls because the cooks need to bolster production by adding other substances to the meth. In true market fashion, the price usually goes up during these
Dose
It is important to note that any substance—whether an illegal drug or something like everyday water—can benefit or harm a person depending upon its quantity and potency (strength). High doses of a substance can produce very different effects from low doses. Water is necessary for human life, but drinking extreme amounts of it in a short period of time disrupts the electrolyte and other critical balances in the body with negative consequences. The methamphetamine drug Desoxyn is beneficial at low doses, but high doses of meth can cause violence and psychosis. Also, size does matter: A person who weighs 100 pounds may experience deleterious or even fatal effects from the same amount of drug taken without adverse effect by someone who weighs 175 pounds.
Continue reading here: The Meth High Dopamine
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