Pubdate: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 Source: Charleston Gazette (WV) Copyright: 2004 Charleston Gazette Contact: http://www.wvgazette.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/77 Author: Chris Wetterich WEST VIRGINIANS PAY MORE FOR ILLEGAL DRUGS West Virginia residents are paying more for illegal drugs than people in other states, a study says. Statistics complied by the National Drug Intelligence Center and announced by U.S. Attorney Kasey Warner, said state residents pay more for powder cocaine than any other area of the country, except for parts of Vermont, Virginia, South Carolina, North Dakota and Montana. While prices vary based on purity, potency, and buyer-seller relationships, the study said West Virginia drug dealers pay about $24,000 wholesale for a kilogram (2.2 pounds) of powder cocaine. The dealers usually sell the drug back for $100 a gram. One kilogram of cocaine could generate as much as $75,000 in profit. Crack cocaine goes for $80 to $200 for a gram and generates anywhere from 100 to 200 percent profit. The state's residents pay $300 a gram for heroin, $2 for a marijuana joint and $150 a gram for methamphetamine - also above average prices, according to the study. Warner said the study underscores how much money goes into the drug business, with the profits generated from a kilogram of cocaine being able to pay two or three schoolteachers. He said one reason West Virginians pay more could be because of the state's remoteness and low population compared to other eastern states. But he also thinks drug dealers are trying to dupe the state's residents. "Maybe people have the ideas that us poor hillbillies in the backwoods will pay more for our drugs," Warner said. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh