These feature articles are the combined work of C-VILLE writers J. Tobias Beard, Kyle Daly, Brendan Fitzgerald, Will Goldsmith, Erika Howsare, Meg McEvoy, David T. Roisen & Jayson Whitehead
| People in Black |
We all know there’s a market for illegal goods and activities out there. Pick up any newspaper—including this one—or watch any news broadcast and find the evidence amply displayed. So-and-so arrested on gun charges. Somebody or other busted for smoking a joint. We all walk around with a vague idea that people engaged in various criminal activities are out there somewhere. But exactly how much money is changing hands on the black market and who’s exchanging it?
With this story, which represents months of research and reporting, we don’t divulge the names but we do list plenty of prices. If you’ve got 50 bucks to spare, for instance—and you know where to spend it—you could get yourself anything from a sexual encounter to a gram of cocaine to a couple of hits of ecstasy to 10 illegal mix tapes or maybe a day of labor from an undocumented worker. Sure, there are risks associated with illegal trade (see the aforementioned arrest blotter), but apparently they’re outweighed by the benefits. In Charlottesville, as in the rest of the country, the market—even the black market—rules.
The Chalkboard (a quick list)
Drugs
Marijuana
- Gram: $15
- Eighth: $35-$60
- Quarter: $25-$100
- Half: $40-$120
- Ounce: $80-$400
- Pound: $800-$1200
Crack
- 20 bag: $20
Cocaine
- Gram: $50-$100
- Eightball: $150 – $250
- Ounce: $600-$1200
- Kilo: $22,000
Ecstasy
- Pill: $20-$30
Shrooms
- Eighth: $25-$35
- Quarter: $40-$70
LSD
- Tab: $5-$10
Heroin
- Bag: $20
- Bundle: $100 – $120
Opioids
- Vicodin: $5.00/pill
- Percocet: $2.50-$10/pill
- Oxycontin: $ .50-$1/mg
- Methadone: $1/mg
- Morphine: $10/pill
- Dilaudid: $20-$40/pill
- Fentanyl: $30-$100/patch
Pharmaceuticals
- Adderal: $3-$15/pill
- Xanax: $1-$10/pill
- Methamphetamine
- Gram: $75-80
- Eightball: $230
- 6gram: $350
Moonshine
- Gallon: $50-$150
- Blowjob: $5-30
- Intercourse: ~$50
- 9mm pistol: $250
- Pirated DVDs: $10
- Pirated CDs: $5
- Illegal Mixtapes: $5-$6
iPods
- Nano: $60
- 60 gig Video: $150
Fighting Dogs: $100s – $1000s.
Video Games: Free
Tickets
- Justin Timberlake: $200 (mark up from $90.50)
- Rod Stewart: $450 for “front row” (mark up from $125)
- Under-the-table restaurant labor: $10/hr
- House cleaning: $55-$120
- Yard work/maintenance: $200-$300/day
- UVA-Corner quality fake ID: $75-80+
- Immigration-quality fake ID: $300 to $1500
- Replica UVA diploma: $184.95
- With transcripts: $269.95