HOW MUCH FOR ALL THAT HEROIN?

The Art And Science Of The Dea'S Drug Valuations

Federal prosecutors charged 44 people in a drug-smuggling ring
Wednesday, having confiscated a stash that included 350 kilograms of
high-grade heroin from Colombia, 220 kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram
of methamphetamine, and 150 pounds of marijuana. The authorities
pegged the value of the heroin alone at $35 million. How do
law-enforcement officers put a price tag on seized drugs?

They check the DEA's own price list. The agency keeps tabs on local
busts all over the country, testing drug samples and recording data
like price, quantity, purity, where the stuff was headed, and how it
was to be mixed with other substances. Informants and undercover
agents also give regular updates on both retail and wholesale prices
of illegal drugs. The information compiled by all 21 field offices
goes into a quarterly report called "Trends in Trafficking," which is
sent around to police departments. It's hard for regular citizens to
get their hands on that useful report, but some of the same data
appear in this detailed publication from the Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

Based on word on the street, for instance, the DEA knows that an eight
ball of cocaine-about 10 lines-goes for $125 to $200 in New York City,
upward of $200 north of the city, and up to $300 in western New York
state. The anti-drug agency also tracks how pure products are. A gram
of coke in Georgia will cost $75 to $100 and is probably 38 percent to
86 percent pure. Better not to buy in South Carolina, however, where a
gram will be of lower quality-25 percent to 55 percent pure-and more
expensive at $50 to $170.

In the recent bust, called Operation Jacket Racket, the 350 kilograms
of heroin referred to bricks that are 60 percent to 70 percent pure.
And $35 million refers to its wholesale value in the area where it was
expected to be distributed. The DEA tends to give wholesale rather
than retail estimates, since the agency usually makes arrests in the
middle of the sales chain. Occasionally, the DEA will also make
street-level seizures. In last year's Operation Black Gold Rush,
authorities took 17 kilograms of black-tar heroin, said to have a
street value of more than $3 million. (That's figured at a rate of
more than $175,000 per kilogram, as opposed to $100,000 from
Wednesday's announcement.) Critics say DEA figures don't have enough
data points and don't account for how many intermediaries would jack
up the price; however, the government's numbers are the most
comprehensive ones available.

It's easiest to estimate how much high-value drugs like heroin and
cocaine are worth. Marijuana is a different story, and less
experienced officers who deal with small-time pot busts are most
likely to be creative in their valuations. The stronger the marijuana,
the more it's worth. But assessing potency based on stickiness and
smell is an imprecise art. Advocates for drug legalization argue that
police officers often price cannabis as if the entire amount would be
sold in one gram quantities. Check out how much people shell out for
different strains in your state.

Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer.

Explainer thanks Garrison Courtney and Steve Robertson of the Drug
Enforcement Administration and Jon Gettman, former president of the
National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws.